IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


11.25 


150   ^^^     R^IH 

Ui  Ui    122 

2?  144    "^ 
^   US    1 20 

1.4    11.6 


PhotDgraphic 

Sciences 

Corporalion 


23  WIST  MAIN  STRHT 

WIUTIR,N.Y.  MSn 

( 71* )  •72-4503 


4' 


% 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/iCIVlH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  tnstituta  for  Historical  Microraproduction*  /  Institut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  historiquas 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notas/Notas  tachniquas  at  bibiiographiquaa 


Tha  Instituta  haa  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  avaiiabia  for  filming.  Faaturaa  of  thia 
copy  which  may  ba  bibliographically  uniqua, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagaa  in  tha 
reproduction,  or  which  may  aignificantly  change 
tha  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


n 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


D 


Couverture  endommagte 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurAe  et/ou  pellicul6e 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


□    Coloured  maps/ 
Cartes  gAographiquas  en  couleur 


D 


Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encra  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I    Coloured  piatea  and/or  illuatrations/ 


D 
D 


D 


D 


Planches  et/ou  illustrationa  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Relit  avac  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  causa  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  Mure  serr6e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intArieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanchea  ajoutias 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissant  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  Atait  possible,  ces  pagea  n'ont 
pas  At*  filmAes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplAmentairas: 


L'lnstitut  a  microfilm*  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  At*  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
da  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique.  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mAthode  nor  mala  de  fiimage 
sont  indiquAs  ci-dessous. 


I      I   Coloured  pages/ 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagtes 


□   Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurtas  et/ou  pelliculAes 


The 
toti 


The 
pos) 
ofti 
film 


Ori| 

beg 

the 

sion 

oth« 

first 

sion 

oril 


\/ 


Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  dAcolorees,  tachaties  ou  piquies 


□Pages  detached/ 
Pages  dttachtes 

HShowthrough/ 
Transparence 


Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Quality  inigaie  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materii 
Comprend  du  material  suppMmantaire 


V~7(  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

nn   Includes  supplementary  material/ 


D 
D 


Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Mition  disponible 

Pdges  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc..  have  been  ref limed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalament  ou  partiallement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata.  une  pelure. 
etc.,  ont  M  filmtes  k  nouveau  de  fa? on  A 
obtenir  la  mailleure  image  possible. 


The 
shal 
TINI 
whi( 

Mar 

diffi 
ami 
beg 
right 
requ 
metl 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmA  au  taux  da  rAduction  indiqu*  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

1SX 

22X 

2SX 

30X 

V 

12X 

16X 

20X 

MX 

28X 

32X 

Th«  copy  fllmtd  h«ro  has  been  reproducad  thankt 
to  tho  aonorositv  of: 


to  tho  gonorotity  of 

MorisMt  Library 
Univanity  of  Ottawa 


L'oxomplairo  filmA  f ut  reproduit  grice  A  la 
g*n4rotitA  da: 

Bibliothiqua  Moriisat 
UnivanM  d'Ottawa 


Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
possibia  consldaring  tha  condition  and  laglblllty 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spaclficatlons. 


Original  coplas  In  printad  papar  covars  ara  fllmad 
baginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  lilustratad  impras- 
sion.  or  tha  back  covar  whan  approprlata.  Ail 
othar  original  copias  ara  fllmad  baginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illuatratad  impraa- 
slon,  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  lilustratad  Imprassion. 


Las  Imagas  suivantas  ont  MA  raproduitas  avac  la 
plus  grand  soln,  compte  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattatA  da  I'axampiaira  fiimi,  at  an 
conformity  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmaga. 

Las  axampiairas  orlginaux  dont  la  couvarture  en 
paplar  ast  ImprimAa  sont  flimte  an  commandant 
par  la  pramlar  plat  at  an  tarmlnant  solt  par  la 
darnlAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'imprasslon  ou  d'lllustration,  solt  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  las  autres  axemplaires 
orlginaux  sont  filmte  en  commen9ant  par  la 
pramlAra  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'imprasslon  ou  d'lllustration  at  en  terminant  par 
la  darniAre  paga  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparattra  sur  la 
darnlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  la  symboia  «►  signlfie  "A  SUiVRE",  le 
symbols  ▼  signlfie  "FIN". 


IMaps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Thoaa  too  large  to  be 
entirely  Included  in  one  expoaura  are  filmed 
beginning  In  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Lea  csrtes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmfo  A  des  taux  da  r6ductlon  diff Arents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cilchA,  ii  est  flimA  A  partir 
da  i'angia  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  baa,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'imagea  nAcessalra.  Lea  diagrammas  suivants 
iiluatrant  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

32X 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

* 

PO 


OUTLU 


ifT 


PRACTICE 
EAS 


AS   MAY    PRC 
PH 

Beiito  a  Com 

or  Mandfai 

Heads  o 

ARIES, 

roR 


Fellow  of  the 
rary  Memb( 
respondent ( 
— Member  ( 
(ielphia — Fo 
Hospital,  &( 

A8SU 


POPULAR    MEDICINE; 


OR, 


FAMILY    ADVISER; 


GOHSisn^o  or 


OUTLINES  OF  ANATOMY,  PHYSIOLOGY, 
AND  HYGIENE, 


WITH   SUCH    HINTS    OX   THK 


PRACTICE  OP  PHYSIC.  SURGERY,  AND  THE  DIS- 
EASES  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN, 


AS   MAY    PROVE     USEFUL    IV    FAMILIES   WHEN    REGULAR 
PHYSICIANS  CANNOT    BE   PROCURED: 

Bums  a  Cohfanioit  and  Gdidb  for  iNTEtj,iOB!(T  Puincipau 
OF  Manufactories,  Plantations,  and  Boarding-Schools, 
Heaps  of  Fahilie9,  Masters  of  Vessels,  Mission- 
aries, OR  Travellers,  and  a  useful  Sketch 
FOR  Young  Men  aBOur   cohmencino  the 
Studt  OF  Medicine. 


BY  REYNELL  COATES,  M.  D. 

Fellow  of  the  College  of  Physicians  of  Philadelphia — Hono- 
rary Member  of  the  Philadelphia  Medical  Society— .Cor- 
respondent of  the  Lyceum  of  Natural  History  of  New  York 
— Member  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Phila- 
delphia— Formerly  Resident  Surgeon  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Hospital,  &c. 


ASSISTED   BY  SEVERAL  UBDICAL  FRIEMDSv 

In  One  Handsome  Volume. 


II    :»i;' 


■^ 


^' 


y   '•'. 


AW 


BRIDGE  WATER   TREATISES. 


In  Sevni  Volumes,  Octavo, 


I. 


By  t!ie  Rev.  Wm.  Kikby,  M. 

A.,  F.  R.  S. 

Illustrated  hy  numerous  En- 
gravbiirs  on  Copp(r. 


Tiie   Adaptation  of  External 

Nature  to   the    Mornl  aiid; 

Intellectual   Constitutiun  of, 

Man.  I 

By  the  Rov.  Thomas  Chat.  |  VII. 

'mers,  Professor  of  DivinilyiAiiimul   and   Vegetable   I'hy- 

in  ti;c  University  of  E.liu-      siology,  coii.«i(!ercd  with  llc- 


biir"! 


11. 


fereiice  to    Natural    Tiico- 
lon;y. 
By  Piii  i:r  Mark  Rocikt,  M.  I». 


'J'lie    Adaptation   of   Exlernal 

Nature  to  tlie  Piiyiiical  VAm-'Mlustratal   with  nearly  fat 

dition  of  Man.  I        Hundred  Wood  Cuts. 

By  John  Kidd,  M.  D.,  F.  R  : 

S.,  Regius  Professor  of  Mo-|  VIII. 

dicine  in  tlio  Univerfeity  of  (^^.^jogy  a,„]  Mineralogy,  Cun 


Oxford. 


III. 


Astronotiiy  and  General  Piiy- 
sics,  Considered  with  Rrfer- 
ence  to  Natural  Theology. 

By  the  Rev.  Wm.  Whewell, 

'M.  A.,  F.  R.  S.,  Fellow  of 

Trinity  College,  Cambridge. 

IV. 

'J'he  Hand:  Its  Mechanism  and 
Vital  Endowments  as  evinc- 
ing Design. 

Ry  Sir  Ciiai  les  Bell,  K.  H., 
F.  R.  S. 

V. 

Chemistry,  Metoorolngy,  and 
the  Function  of  Digestion. 

By  Wm.  Prout,  M.  D.,  F. 
R.  S. 

VI. 

The  History,  Habits,  and  In- 
stincts of  Animals. 


sidered    witii    Reference    to 
Natural  Theology. 
By  the  Rev-  Wm-  Bucki-\nd,  I). 

D.,  Canon  of  Christ  Church. 
ond  R(\idcr  in  Geolnny  and 
Mincralojvy  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Oxlbrd. 

BEING  THE  L.VST  OF  THE 

BRIDGEWATER  TREATI?r.S. 

OX  TIIK 

PowKR,  Wisdom  and  Goodness 
OF  Goi), 

AS  MANU'ESTKI)  IX  THE  CBEATIOX. 

With    Eighty -nine    Copper- 
plates and  Maps. 

The  whole  bonncl  in  liand- 
iome  embossed  clolii,  or  neatly 
half  bound  with  calf  back:;  and 
corners. 

Any  one  of  the  Trcatieo's 
^nn  be  liad  separately. 


C 


THE 


BUBBLES 


or 


CANADA. 


/(Vil 


r.   .'■: 


■!<■■. 


,*' 


i 


'\kM 

]  W^Wi^ 

mi 

\\ 


tt 


n 


"I 

coulc 


xrc 


:^:l 


BUBBLES 


or 


CANADA. 


BY  THE  AUTHOR  OF 


\^  * 


:-tl 


"SAM    SLICK,"    "THE   CLOCKWAKER; 

&c.  &c.    ^^^JnivtrTSj 

BIBLIOTHECA 


»j 


"I  say,  Jack,  I'm  blow'd  if  he  didn't  call  it  a  shap-po/    Why  tb"  invil 
couldn't  he  call  it  a  hat  at  once— (Aat  comes  now  qf  his  not  speaking  E  •.us'i." 


PHILADELPHIA : 
LEA    &.BLANCHARD, 

SUCCESSORS  TO  CAREY  &,  CO.  ^ 

1839. 
BISLIiTMECA 


(.: 


:'-.Jihi 


■t 
It 


ii 


r' 


\  \ 


jqo03  000^390^^ 


«;' 


London,  2ith  Dec.  1838. 

My  dear,  Haliburton, 

I  shall  offer  no  apology  to  you  for  the  mau- 
ner  in  which  I  have  executed  this  work,  as 
you  are  well  aware  that  I  could  command 
neither  the  time  nor  the  materials  that  were 
necessary  to  do  it  properly :  even  the  small 
portion  of  time  I  have  been  able  to  devote  to 
it,  out  of  a  hasty  visit  to  London,  has  been 
subject  to  constant  interruptions ;  and  many 
important  documents  which  ought  to  have 
been  referred  to,  have,  I  find  (from  the  little 
interest  hitherto  taken  in  Canadian  affairs,) 
not  found  their  way  to  England.  Wherever 
I  could  obtain  authentic  works  and  official 
papers,  I  have  used  them  as  freely  as  I  could, 
that  as  little  as  possible  might  rest  on  indivi- 
dual assertion. 

Such  as  it  is,  I  beg  of  you  to  accept  it,  as 
a  proof  of  my  desire  to  comply  with  your 
wishes,  as  far  as  it  has  been  in  my  power  to 
<lo  so.  If  you  are  satisfied  with  it,  I  am  con- 
tent. As  respects  the  rest  of  the  world,  we 
know  too  little  of  each  other  to  require  that  I 
should  explain  or  they  should  listen. 

Yours  always, 

a  s. 

To  Jahks  HaliburtoiV,  Esq., 

&c.  &c.  &c. 


n 


■»', 


■11 


r  Ji-rJ 


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TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


:^ 


; 


LETTER  I. 


Introductory  remarks 


LETTER  IL 


Pago 

y 


Charge  of  misgovornmont,  advanced  by  Lorda  Durham  and 
Brougham,  controverted — Evidence  of  the  Duke  de  In 
Rochefoucault  Liancourt  and  Professor  Silliman 

LETTER  in. 


15 


Extent,  population  and  trade  of  British  America — Contradic- 
tory opinions  of  Lord  Brougham — EstabliBhmcnt  of  Eng- 
lish  laws  in  Canada — Impolitic  and  unjust  abrogation  of 
them  by  Quebec  Act Q'i 

LETTER  IV. 

Constitutional  act — Form  of  government — Feudal  laws — Pre> 
sent  state  of  the  law  in  Canada — People  unfit  for  constitu- 
tional government 


JC 


LETTER  V. 


A  review  of  the  proceedings  of  the  legislature  of  Canada 
from  1792,  when  it  first  assembled,  to  1819,  when  a  demand 
was  made  for  a  provision  for  the  civil  list         .        .         -50 

LETTER  VI. 

Sources  of  revenue  in  Canada — Reference  to  committee  of 
Parliament  of  alleged  grievances — Unjust  electorial  division 
of  Canada — ^Unconstitutional  proceedings  of  Assembly — 
Fresh  grievances— Lord  Goderich's  review  of  proceedings    75 


-.  M 


I 


vin 


COKTEIITS^ 


Pagv 

LETTER  VII. 

Ninety.two  resolutions  of  Canadian  Assembly — Reference  of 
the  same  to  committee  of  1834 — ^Report  of  committee       •  IIG^ 

LETTER  VIIL 

Review  by  Lord  Aberdeen  of  the  steps  taken  by  government 
to  carry  out  the  recommendation  of  committee  of  1838      -  156 

LETTER  IX. 

Appointment  of  commission  of  inquiry — Their  instructions — 
Lord  Glenelg's  reply  to  the  demands  of  tho  Assembly       •  I7(i 

LETTER  X. 

Abandonment  of  grievances  and  demand  of  constitutional 
changes-specification  of  changes  required,  and  separate 
•  consideration  of  each. — 1st.  That  tho  Legislative  Council 
should  be  elective. — 9d.  That  the  Executive  Council  should 
he  responsible  to  the  House  of  Assembly. — 3d.  That  tlic 
Tenures  Act  and  Land  Company  Act  sliould  be  repealed. — 
4th.  Tliat  the  crown  revenues  should  be  surrendered  uncon- 
ditionally.— 5th.  That  the  management  of  the  waste  lands 
should  be  given  up  to  them      ...--.  IDg 

LETTER  XL 

Resolutions  introduced  by  Lord  John  Russell — Right  of  Par- 
liament to  interfere  considered — Conduct  of  Assembly — 
Revolt — Conduct  of  Catholic  clergy,  and  reflections  thereon 
—Mitigating  circumstances  attending  the  rebellion — Mis- 
sion of  Lord  Durham,  dangerous  schemes  proposed  by  him, 
had  effect  of  his  proceedings  on  the  other  colonies — General 
review  of  the  topics  embraced  in  this  work — Importance  of 
the  crisis,  and  effect  of  Canadian  independence  on  the  colo- 
nial possessions  of  Great  Britain      '2'd(i 


agv 


THE 


'  fry] 

.\jU  •  i 


IIC^ 


15(> 


ITG 


l»8 


.  236 


BUBBLES  OP  CANADA. 


LETTER  I. 


My  Dear  Haliburton, 

As  the  people  of  this  country  know  but  little  ot 
the  dissensions  in  Canada,  they  very  wisely  confine 
their  observations  to  the  dissensions  of  those  who 
govern  it.  This  is  a  more  intelligible  as  well  as  a 
more  amusing  subject.  Every  body  talks  of  Lord 
Brougham  and  Lord  Durham,  but  nobody  speaks  of 
Canada.  Instead,  therefore,  of  inquiring  what  is  to 
become  of  that  valuable  colony,  what  measures  are, 
or  ought  to  be  adopted,  to  ensure  its  tranquillity,  and 
to  protect  British  subjects  and  British  property 
there,  people  very  properly  limit  their  attention  to 
the  more  interesting  question  what  will  the  Gover- 
nor-General do  when  Parliament  meets.?  To  in- 
(juire  whether  the  English  or  the  French  population 
of  Canada  is  in  the  right,  requires  some  investiga- 
tion to  ascertain  facts,  and  some  constitutional 
knowledge  to  judge  of  those  facts  when  collected. 
It  is,  at  best,  but  a  dry  subject.  But  to  decide 
whether  Lord  Brougham  or  Lord  Durham  has  the 
2 


I 


'i.tr 


10 


THE  BUBBLES 


best  of  the  dispute  is  a  matter  so  well  suited  for 
easy  conversation,  and  humorous  argument,  that  it 
is  no  wonder  it  has  more  attractions  than  the  other. 
Such,  however,  is  the  acerbity  of  politics  in  this 
country,  that  even  this  affair  is  made  a  party  ques- 
tion, and  the  worst  motives  are  imputed  for  every 
thing  that  is  said  or  done  by  either.     There  are  not 
wanting  those  who  gravely  assert,  that  while  Lord 
Brougham  was  affecting  to  brush  off  the  flies  from 
the  heels  of  an  old  rival,  he  intentionally  switched 
him  so  hard  as  to  arouse  his  temper  and  induce  him 
to  kick.     They  maintain  that  there  are  two  sorts  of 
tickling,  one  that  is  so  delicate  as  to  produce  laugh- 
ter and  pleasurable  sensations,  and  another  that  ir- 
ritates both  the  skin  and  the  temper  by  the  coarse- 
ness of  its  application.     They  say  that  his  lordship 
is  much  addicted  to  the  latter  species,  and  applies 
it  equally  to  both  friends  and  foes ;  in  short,  that  his 
play  is  too  rough  to  be  agreeable.     While,  on  the 
other  hand,  there  are  some  who  are  so  unkind  as  to 
insinuate  that  Lord  Durham  was  very  willing  to 
take  offence,  and  to  shelter  himself  under  it.     That 
he  felt  he  had  voluntarily  undertaken  a  load  which 
he  was  unable  to  draw,  and  that  knowing  greater 
expectations  had  been  formed  of  him  than  he  could 
ever  realize,  had  no  objection  to  kick  himself  out  of 
harness,and  extricate  himself  by  overthrowing  friend 
or  foe,  so  long  as  the  public  were  willing  to  be- 
lieve the  fault  to  be  that  of  the  teemsler,  and  not  of 
the  steed. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  the  exhibition  has  been  an  en- 
tertaining one,  and  they  deserve  some  credit  for 
having  afforded  amusement  and  occupation  to  the 


OF  CANADA. 


11 


public  at  this  dull  season  of  the  year.  There  they 
are,  the  crowd  has  gathered  round  them,  the  idle 
and  the  \ulgar  stand  gaping,  and  each  one  looks 
anxiously  for  what  is  to  follow.  What  can  be  more 
agreeable  to  a  British  mob,  a  people  essentially  fond 
of  the  prize  fight,  than  the  contest  of  these  two 
champions,  men  who  have  always  courted  their  ap- 
plause, and  valued  their  noisy  demonstrations  of 
pleasure  higher  than  the  quiet  respect  of  those  of 
more  taste  and  more  refinement  ?  It  affbrds,  how- 
ever, no  pleasure  to  the  colonist.  He  regards  one 
as  a  man  of  splendid  talents  and  no  conduct,  and 
the  other  as  a  man  without  the  possession  of  either, 
has  advanced  to  his  present  high  station  merely  by 
the  force  of  extreme  opinions.  He  has  no  sym- 
pathy with  either.  The  one  is  too  much  actu- 
ated by  his  implacable  hatred,  the  other  by  his 
inordinate  pride.  The  former  is  dangerous  from  his 
disposition  to  do  mischief,  and  the  latter  unsafe, 
from  his  utter  inability  to  effect  any  good. 

After  all  the  addresses  that  have  been  presented 
by  the  Canadians,  this  language  may  possibly  ap- 
pear strange  and  strong ;  but  addresses  afford  no 
proof.  They  are  cheap  commodities  every  where. 
Place-hunters  may  flatter,  and  vulgar  men  may 
fawn,  and  oflice-holders  tremble  and  obey,  but  the 
truth  must  still  be  told.  A  governor  -is  the  re- 
presentative of  royalty,  and  colonists  have  been 
taught  to  venerate  the  oflice,  whatever  they  may 
think  of  the  man".  At  the  present  crisis  it  is  the  test 
of  loyalty.  You  will  search  in  vain  among  those 
addresses  for  the  names  of  the  disaffected ;  and  if 
those  who  signed  them  have  expressed  themselves 


■m 


•Vi 


u     ■ 


IS 


THE  BUBBLES 


strongly,  they  felt  it  was  no  time  to  measure  words, 
when  hesitation  bears  so  strong  a  resemblance  to 
a  repugnance  springing  from  a  different  cause. 
But  even  among  these  customary  offerings  of  offi- 
cial respect,  you  will  find  several  exhibiting  a  choice 
of  expression  that  bespeak  a  desire  to  separate  the 
approbation  of  measures  from  the  usual  deference 
to  rank  and  station,  and  others  marking  the  distinc- 
tion in  explicit  terms.  The  colonist  by  no  means 
regrets  his  resignation,  because  he  has  shown  from 
his  irritable  temper,  inconsiderate  conduct,  and 
crude  and  dangerous  schemes,  that,  of  all  men,  he 
was  the  most  unfit  depository  for  the  extraordinary 
powers  that  were  intrusted  to  him ;  but  he  does  re- 
gret that  public  attention  should  be  diverted  from  so 
important  a  subject  as  our  Canadian  affairs,  to  so 
unimportant  a  matter  as  my  Lord  Durham's  private 
quarrels. 

He  is  desirous  that  tlie  questions  at  issue  between 
the  people  of  Canada  and  Great  Britain  should  be 
understood,  and  he  doubts  not  that  the  good  sense 
and  good  feeling  of  this  country  will  apply  the  pro- 
per remedies.  In  compiling  a  statement  of  these 
grievances,  pretensions,  or  claims  (or  by  whatever 
other  name  you  may  choose  to  designate  them,)  I 
shall  hope  to  contribute  towards  this  desirable'ob- 
ject.  I  feel,  however,  my  dear  friend,  that  before 
I  enter  upon  the  subject,  I  ought  to  apologize  to 
you  for  the  bulk  of  this  work.  Indeed,  when  you 
told  me  at  Melrose  that  you  had  been  in  Egypt 
during  nearly  the  whole  period  of  these  Canadian 
disputes,  and  therefore  wished  to  have  a  history  of 
them,  I  had  not  the  slightest  idea  that  in  under- 


'!i 


OF  CANADA. 


13 


taking  to  give  you  one,  I  was  going  to  write  a  book. 
But,  though  I  will  fulfil  my  promi"?;  I  will  not  ex- 
ceed it.  I  shall  confine  myself  to  a  sketch  of  the 
origin,  progress,  and  present  state  of  agitation  in 
Lower  Canada.  I  will  show  you  the  pretensions 
that  have  been  put  forth,  the  concessions  that  have 
been  made,  and  the  open  questions  that  now  remain; 
you  will  then  be  able  to  judge  whether  these  grie- 
vances have  led  to  disaffection,  or  disaffection  has 
given  rise  to  grievances,  and  in  either  case  will  be 
able  to  perceive  what  ought  to  be  the  remedy. 
Facts  and  not  theories  are  wanted;  you  must  know 
the  cause  and  nature  of  a  disease  before  you  can 
prescribe  for  it. 

If  ever  you  had  the  misfortune  to  have  had  the 
tooth-ache,  you  have  doubtless  found  that  every 
one  of  your  iriends  had  an  infallible  remedy,  each 
of  which  eventually  proved,  upon  trial,  to  be  nothing 
more  than  a  palliative,  a  nostrum  that  soothed  the 
anguish  for  a  time,  by  conciliating  the  nerve;  but  that 
the  pain  returned,  with  every  change  of  atmosphere, 
with  increased  power,  while  the  sedative  application 
became  less  and  less  efficacious  the  oftener  it  was 
repeated.  You  have  also  found,  as  others  have  ex- 
perienced before  you,  that  while  you  were  thus  tem- 
porizing with  an  evil  which  required  more  prompt 
and  skilful  treatment,  you  had  lost  the  opportunity 
of  filling  the  cavity  and  preserving  the  tooth,  by 
suffering  decay  to  proceed  too  far  to  admit  of  the 
operation,  and,  after  years  of  sufl^ering,  had  to  sub- 
mit at  last  to  cold  iron^  the  ultima  ratio  of  dentists. 
Whether  the  system  of  palliatives  and  concessions, 

that  has  been  resorted  to  in  Canada,  is  a  wise  and 

2* 


^1 


m 


S: 


14 


THE  BUBBLES 


proper  one,  I  shall  not  presume  to  say;  but  all  men 
must  agree  that  it  at  least  has  the  merit  of  displaying 
an  amiable  inclination  to  avoid  giving  pain.  What- 
ever doubts  may  arise  as  to  the  conciliatory  mea- 
sures  of  past  years,  there  can  be  none  whatever 
entertained  that  they  cannot  be  persisted  in  any 
longer  with  advantage.  I  shall  content  myself, 
however,  with  merely  presenting  you  with  a  state- 
ment of  the  case,  and  you  shall  decide  for  yourself 
whether  stopping,  or  forcible  extraction,  be  now  the 
proper  remedy. 


\' 


OF  CAIfADA. 


15 


LETTER  II. 

After  the  late  unhappy  and  wicked  rebellion  in 
Canada  was  suppressed,  it  was  found  necessary  to 
punish  with  death  a  few  of  the  most  conspicuous 
traitors,  for  the  atrocious  murders  they  had  com- 
mitted. In  the  colonies,  although  the  justice  of  this 
act  was  fully  admitted,  the  necessity  that  existed 
for  it  was  generally  deplored.  So  much  blood  had 
been  shed  in  the  field,  and  so  much  misery  entailed 
upon  the  country,  by  that  rash  and  unprovoked  re- 
volt, that  the  people  would  gladly  have  been  spared 
the  spectacle  of  a  farther  sacrifice  of  human  life,  if 
the  outraged  laws  of  the  country  had  not  impera- 
tively called  for  retribution.  They  felt,  too,  that 
although  nothing  could  justify  their  having  desolated 
the  country  with  fire  and  sword,  in  support  of  mere 
speculative  points  of  government,  some  pity  was 
due  to  deluded  men,  who  had  been  seduced  from 
their  allegiance  by  promises  of  support,  and  direct 
encouragement  to  revolt,  by  people  of  influence  and 
standing  in  the  mother  country;  but  although  they 
knew  that  mischievous  counsels  had  been  given, 
they  certainly  were  not  prepared  to  hear  similar 
sentiments  publicly  avowed  in  the  parliament  of 
the  nation.  It  was,  therefore,  not  without  mingled 
feelings  of  surprise  and  sorrow  that  they  heard  one 
honourable  member  invoke  defeat  and  disgrace  upon 
Her  Majesty's  troops,  whose  service  was  already 


n 


n 


vf.f 


'I   !t-. 


1 


-if. 


16 


THE  BUBHLES 


sufficiently  painful  without  this  aggravation;  and  u 
noble  lord,  in  another  branch  of  the  legislature,  de- 
nounce, with  indignant  eloquence,  the  juries  who 
had  tried  and  the  judges  that  had  sentenced  these 
convicted  criminals.  They  ought,  however,  to  have 
known,  and  certainly  a  little  reflection  would  have 
suggested,  that  the  instinctive  horror  of  those  dis- 
tinguished men  at  such  an  event  was  quite  natural, 
and  that  they  who  advocate  revolutionary  doc- 
trines must  necessarily  shudder  at  the  untimely  fate 
of  those  who  have  dared  to  act  upon  them.  It  was 
a  warning  not  to  be  disregarded,  a  consummation 
that  might  be  their  own,  and  a  lesson  fraught  with 
a  most  salutary  moral.  As  their  perceptions  were 
acute  enough  to  make  the  application,  it  is  to  be 
hoped  their  prudence  will  be  sufficient  to  avoid  a 
similar  result.  Nor  is  the  language  held  by  my 
Lord  Durham,  in  his  recent  valedictory  proclama- 
tion, less  surprising.  He  has  thought  proper,  in 
that  extraordinary  document,  to  give  the  sanction 
of  his  high  station  to  the  popular  error  that  the  Ca- 
nadas  have  been  misgoverned,  and  thereby  expressed 
a  deliberate  censure  upon  the  conduct  of  abler  and 
better  men  than  himself  who  have  preceded  him. 
Now,  there  are  various  kinds  of  misgovernment, 
which  may  be  effected  by  acts  of  commission  or 
omission,  or  of  both,  for  a  defective  form  of  govern- 
ment and  misgovernment  are  widely  different.  If 
his  lordship  meant  to  use  the  word  in  either  of  those 
senses,  and  considered  the  French  Canadians  as 
the  subjects  of  it,  then  I  beg  leave  most  respectfully 
to  state,  that  he  was  not  warranted  by  facts  in' 
saying  so,  and  that  it  is  an  additional  proof,  if  any 


or  CANADA. 


17 


were  wanting,  that  he  knew  as  little  of  the  affairs 
of  the  colony  at  his  departure  from  thence,  as  he 
admits  that  he  did  on  his  arrival  there.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  used  it  as  a  cant  term  to  adorn  a 
rhetorical  flourish,  we  shall  accept  the  explanation, 
and  consider  it  as  such,  classing  it  with  promises 
profusely  made  on  his  acceptance  of  office  which 
he  has  not  performed,  and  similar  ones  ostenta- 
tiously offered  on  his  resignation  which  he  is  equally 
unable  to  fulfil. 

My  Lord  Brougham  has  expressed  more  fully 
and  intelligibly  the  same  opinion  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  and  has  since  been  at  great  pains  to  repub- 
lish it,  first,  in  the  pamphlet  form,  to  circulate  as  a 
cheap  commodity;  and,  secondly,  in  a  collection 
of  his  speeches,  to  be  impressed  by  his  friend  the 
schoolmaster,  as  a  specimen  of  eloquence,  on  the 
minds  of  village  Hampdens.  Although  this  states- 
man is  followed  by  few,  and  attached  to  none,  he 
is  too  eloquent  and  too  powerful  not  to  command 
the  attention  of  all,  and  presents  the  singular  ano- 
maly of  being  unable  to  add  weight  or  influence  to 
any  party  to  which  he  may  lend  his  support,  and 
yet  being  the  most  fearful  opponent  in  the  House 
to  those  whom  it  may  be  his  pleasure  to  attack. 
With  respect  to  Canada,  he  was  pleased  to  say,. 
"  Another  rule  prevails — *  Refuse  all  they  ask;  turn 
a  deaf  ear  to  every  complaint;  mock  them  with 
hopes  never  to  be  realized ;  insult  them  with  rights 
which  when  they  dare  to  use  shall  be  rudely  torn 
from  them ;  and  for  abiding  by  the  law,  in  seeking 
redress  of  their  wrongs,  punish  them  by  the  inflic 
lion  of  a  dictator  and  a  despotism.'"     Truisms  are 


^^vm 


). 


m 


\ 


18 


THE  BUBBLES 


seldom  repeated ;  they  require  but  to  be  enounced, 
to  be  assented  to.  Paradoxes  are  more  fortunate ; 
they  startle  and  perplex,  and  he  who  cannot  origi- 
nate can  at  least  copy.  I  was,  therefore,  not  sur- 
prised at  hearing  an  humble  imitation  of  this  dia- 
tribe at  a  meeting  of  the  lower  orders  of  Edinburgh 
at  Carlton  Ilill.  That  the  audience  might  find  time 
to  attend,  the  assembly  was  held  by  torch-light,  a 
fitting  emblem  for  incendiary  doctrines.  Tories 
and  Whigs  were  alike  reprobated  by  an  orator, 
who,  when  he  had  exhausted  the  topics  of  domestic 
misrule,  deplored  in  most  pathetic  terms  the  lot 
"  of  our  oppressed  and  enslaved  brethren  in  Ca- 
nada." If  this  be  true  of  them,  it  is  an  appeal  to 
humanity,  and  when  in  Britain  was  that  appeal 
made  in  vain?  It  is,  however,  the  character  of 
humanity  to  be  credulous.  The  mendicant  impos- 
tor, aware  of  the  fact,  profits  by  the  knowledge  of 
it,  and  weaves  a  tale  of  misfortune  or  oppression  to 
excite  pity  and  extort  money;  the  political  juggler, 
in  like  manner,  draws  upon  his  imagination  for 
facts,  and  having  established  a  grievance,  makes  a 
tender  of  his  services  as  a  reformer. 

As  this  charge  of  misgovernment  has  been  often 
made  of  late,  it  is  probable  it  will  be  repeated,  and 
as  it  must  materially  modify  the  opinion  we  are  to 
form,  both  of  the  revolt,  and  of  the  measures  to  be 
adopted  hereafter  in  consequence  thereof,  I  shall 
now  proceed  to  controvert  this  assertion ;  but  be- 
fore I  enter  upon  it,  permit  me  to  say,  that  I  shall 
not  treat  this  as  a  party  question.  As  a  colonist, 
at  once  a  native  and  a  resident  of  a  distant  part  of 
the  empire,  I  am  not  only  unconnected  with,  but 


nor 

the 

The 

this 

dere( 

asser 


OF  OAWADA. 


10 


perfectly  independent  of  either  of  the  great  parties 
of  this  country,  of  Tories  or  Whigs  or  Radicals; 
nor  do  I  consider  this  as  a  subject  at  all  involving 
the  principles  for  which  they  severally  contend. 
The  question  is  one  wholly  between  the  people  of 
this  country  and  the  colonists,  and  must  be  consi- 
dered as  such ;  and  so  far  from  my  Lord  Durham's 
assertion  being  true,  that  there  has  been  misgovern- 
ment,  I  am  prepared  to  show,  that  every  adminis- 
tration in  this  country,  without  exception,  from  the 
conquest  of  Canada  to  the  present  time,  whether 
Tory  or  Whig,  or  mixed,  or  by  whatever  name 
they  may  be  designated,  have  been  actuated  but 
by  one  feeling,  an  earnest  desire  to  cultivate  a  good 
understanding  with  their  new  subjects  of  French 
extraction,  and  on  one  principle,  a  principle  of  con- 
cession. Canada  has  had  more  privileges  and  in- 
dulgences granted  to  it  than  any  other  of  our  Ame- 
rican colonies:  unpopular  officers  have  been  re- 
moved ;  obnoxious  governors  have  been  recalled ; 
constitutional  points  abandoned  to  them;  all  rea- 
sonable changes  made  (or,  as  they  would  express 
it,  grievances  redressed:)  and  the  interests  of  com- 
merce and  of  persons  of  British  origin  postponed 
to  suit  their  convenience,  or  accommodate  their 
prejudices;  in  short,  every  thing  has  been  done, 
and  every  thing  conceded  to  conciliate'  them,  that 
ingenuity  could  devise  or  unbounded  liberality  grant, 
and  no  sacrifice  has  been  considered  too  great  to 
purchase  their  affections,  short  of  yielding  up  the 
colony  to  their  entire  control ;  and  for  all  this  for- 
bearance and  liberality  they  have  been  met  with 
ingratitude,  abuse,  and  rebellion.    For  the  truth  of 


I. 


■A 

!■ 
IV      . 


''■»Ji 


;  f 


20 


THE  RURRf.RS 


this  assertion,  I  call  upon  Franco  and  the  United 
States  to  bear  mo  testimony.  Hear  the  Duke  de 
la  Rochfoucault  Liancourt :  **  No  Canadian  has  just 
grounds  of  complaint  against  the  British  Govern- 
ment; the  inhabitants  of  Canada  acknowledge  una- 
nimously that  they  are  better  treated  than  under 
the  ancient  French  government ;  but  they  love  the 
French,  forget  them  not,  long  after  them,  hope  for 
their  arrival,  will  always  love  them,  and  betray 
these  feelings  too  frequently,  and  in  too  frank  a 
manner,  not  to  incur  the  displeasure  of  the  English, 
who  even  in  Europe,  have  not  made  an  equal  pro- 
gress with  us  in  discarding  the  absurd  prejudices 
of  one  people  against  another. 

"  They  pay  no  taxes,  live  well,  at  an  easy  rate, 
and  in  plenty ;  within  the  compass  of  their  com- 
prehensions they  cannot  wish  for  any  other  good. 
They  are  so  little  acquainted  with  the  principles  of 
liberty,  that  it  has  cost  a  great  deal  of  trouble  to 
establish  juries  in  their  country ;  they  oppose  the 
introduction  of  the  trial  by  jury;  in  civil  cases 
these  are  not  yet  in  use.  But  they  love  France; 
this  beloved  country  engages  still  their  aflections. 
In  their  estimation  a  Frenchman  is  a  being  far  su- 
perior to  an  Englishman." 

"  The  farmers  are  a  frugal  set  of  people,  but  igno- 
rant and  lazy.  In  order  to  succeed  in  enlarging  and 
improving  agriculture  in  this  province,  the  English 
Government  must  proceed  with  great  prudence  and 
perseverance;  for  in  addition  to  the  unhappy  preju- 
dices which  the  inhabitants  of  Canada  entertain  in 
common  with  the  farmers  of  all  other  countries,  they 
also  foster  a  strong  mistrust  against  every  thing 


or  CAJCADA. 


31 


which  they  receive  from  ilic  EngUsh;  and  this  mis- 
trust is  grounded  on  tho  idea  that  tho  English  arc 
their  conquerors,  and  the  French  ih.'ir  brethren. 
There  are  some  exccjiMons  from  this  bad  agricul- 
tural system,  but  they  arc  fow.  The  best  cultiva- 
tors are  always  landholders  arrived  from  Englanrl. 

*•  Upon  tho  whole,  the  work  of  education  in  Lower 
Canada  is  greatly  neglected.  At  Sorel  and  Three 
Rivers  are  a  few  schools,  kept  by  the  nuns;  in 
other  places  men  or  women  instruct  children.  But 
tho  number  of  schools  is,  upon  the  whole,  so  very 
small,  and  the  mode  of  instruction  so  defective,  that 
a  Canadian  who  can  read  is  a  sort  of  phenomenon. 
From  the  major  part  of  these  schools  being  governed 
by  nuns  and  other  women,  the  number  of  the  latter 
who  can  read  is,  contrary  to  the  custom  of  other 
countries,  much  greater  in  Lower  Canada  than  that 
of  men. 

"  The  English  Government  is  charged  with  de- 
signedly keeping  the  people  of  Lower  Canada  in  ig- 
norance; but  were  it  sincerely  desirous  of  producing 
an  advantageous  change  in  this  respect,  it  would 
have  as  great  obstacles  to  surmount  on  this  head  as 
in  regard  to  agricultural  improvements." 

Hear  also  Professor  Silliman,  a  distinguished 
American  scholar: 

"  It  is  questionable  whether  any  conquered  coun- 
try was  ever  better  treated  by  its  conquerors  than 
Canada;  the  people  were  left  in  complete  possession 
of  their  religion  and  revenues  to  support  it — of  their 
property,  laws,  customs,  and  manners;  and  even 
the  defence  of  their  country  is  without  expense  to 
them ;  and  it  is  a  curious  fact,  that)  unless  by  the 
8 


t 


If. 


;r|l 


22 


THE  blubles 


great  counterbalancing  advantages  it  produces,)  so 
far  Irom  being  a  source  of  revenue,  it  is  a  charge  on 
the  treasury  of  the  empire.  It  vvotild  seem  as  if  the 
trouble  and  expense  of  government  was  taken  off 
their  hands,  and  as  if  they  were  left  to  enjoy  their 
own  domestic  comforts  without  a  drawback.  Such 
is  certainly  the  appearance  of  the  population;  and 
it  is  doubtful  whether  our  own  favoured  communi- 
ties are  politically  more  happy; — they  are  not  ex- 
posed in  a  similar  manner  to  ])Ovcrty  and  the  dan- 
ger of  starvation,  which  so  often  invade  the  English 
manufacturer,  and  which,  aided  by  their  dema- 
gogues, goad  them  on  to  every  thing  but  open  re- 
bellion. Lower  Canada  is  a  fine  country,  and  wil! 
hereafter  become  populous  and  powerful,  especially 
as  the  British  and  Anglo-American  population  t^hall 
ilow  in  more  extensively,  and  impart  more  vigour 
and  activity  to  the  community.  The  climate,  not- 
withstanding its  severity,  is  a  good  one,  and  very 
healthy  and  favourable  to  the  freshness  and  beauty 
of  the  human  constitution.  All  the  most  important 
comforts  of  life  are  easily  and  abundantly  obtained." 
This,  you  will  observe,  is  but  the  evidence  of 
opinion;  produce  your  facts.  Agreed.  To  tlu; 
facts  then  let  us  proceed. 


>r 


OF  CANADA, 


')S 


'J3 


r '    '  r 


LETTER  111. 


Bv  the  treaty  of  peace  in  the  year  1703,  Canada, 
xhe  conquest  of  vvliich  had  been  achieved  on  the 
])lains  of  Abraham,  by  General  Wolfe,  was  ceded, 
in  full  sovereignty  and  right,  to  his  Britannic  Majes- 
ty by  the  King  of  Franco,  and  the  French  inhabi- 
tants who  chose  to  remain  in  the  country  became 
subjects  of  Great  Britain,  and  were  secured  in  the 
enjoyment  of  their  property  and  i)os.scssions,  and  the 
jree  exercise  of  their  religion.  Thus  terminated  the 
power  of  France  in  that  portion  of  North  America; 
and  here  it  may  be  useful  to  pause  and  consider, 
with  this  vast  adJilion  of  territory,  how  extensive 
and  important  are  our  translantic  possessions. 

Tiiey  may  be  computed  in  round  numbers  to  coir 
prise  upwards  of  four  millions  of  geographical  square 
miles,  extending  across  the  whole  Continent,  from 
the  Atlantic  in  the  east,  to  the  shores  of  the  North 
Pacific  Ocean  on  the  west ;  on  the  parallel  of  the 
40^  of  north  latitude  their  extreme  breadth  is  about 
3,000  gcograi)hIcal  miles,  and  their  greatest  depth 
from  the  most  southern  point  of  Upper  Canada  in 
Lake  Eric,  to  Smith's  Sound  in  the  Polar  regions^, 
rather  more  than  2,150,  thus  embracing  a  large 
portion  of  the  Arctic  Seas,  and  of  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific. 

The  population  of  this  country  may  be  estimated 
at  little  short  of  two  millions;  while  the  export  trade 
to  it  exceeds  (hat   to  Russia,  Prussia,  Denmark, 


:'l! 


■It 

H 

K 

> 

fij 

I 


24 


THE  BUBBLES 


Sweden,  Norway,  and  Franr.p  roUeptivfily.  and 
nearly  equals  that  to  the  United  States,  the  most 
commercial  country  in  the  world  next  to  Great 
Britain.  These  exports  have  increased  above  40 
per  cent,  in  three  years. 

In  carrying  on  this  trade,  about  seven  thousand 
British  vessels  are  employed;  the  tonnage  of  those  in- 
wards and  outwards  being  each  way  nearly  1 ,000,000 
tons  annually,  either  to  Great  Britain  or  her  other 
colonies,  all  of  them,  be  it  remembered,  navigated 
by  her  own  seamen,  and  employing  British  capi- 
tal :  and  seven-eighths  of  the  whole  produce  so 
transported  being  paid  for  in  labour  to  her  own 
people,  and  all  the  profits,  agencies,  and  brokerages 
of  this  enormous  trade  divided  among  her  own  sub- 
jects. Can  the  possible  loss  of  such  a  trade  be  con- 
templated, without  apprehending  consequences  se- 
rious to  llic  manufacturing  interests,  and  prejudicial 
to  national  prosperity  t 

In  four  years  not  less  than  £300,000  has  been 
paid  by  eiriigrants  as  passage-money  to  her  ship- 
owners; and  if  out  of  the  number  of  170,000  who 
emigrated  during  that  period,  only  20,000*  had  be- 
come buidensome  at  home,  and  had  cost  their  pa- 
rishes only  £4  per  head  per  annum,  the  expenses  to 
the  con:imunity  (wiiich  have  been  saved)  wouhS 
have  been  $320,000. 

Such  arc  tiie  interests  now  at  stake,  and  which 
you  arc  called  upon  to  surrender.  My  liorci 
Brougham,  the  advocate  "  for  the  diflusion  of  use- 
ful knowledge,"  thus  sanctions  the  doctrine  that 
colonies  though   large   are  unwieldy,  and  though 

♦  See  Letter  to  E.  U:iines,  Esq.,  M.  I'. 


Iffi  ' 


.f. 


or  CANADA. 


l>5 


possessing  intrinsic  value,  cost  more  for  their  sup- 
port and  protection,  than  counterbalances  any  ad- 
vantage to  be  derived  from  them.  "  I  have  always 
held  (he  observed  on  the  2d  of  February  last,  when 
speaking  on  the  Canada  question,)  the  severance  of 
a  colony  to  be  a  benefit  and  no  loss,  provided  it 
can  be  eflected  in  peace,  and  leave  only  feelings  of 
kindness  on  either  side."  At  the  same  time  he 
"  hurled  defiance  (I  use  his  own  words)  at  the  head 
of  the  premier,"  to  point  out  where  he  had  ever 
changed  his  principles.  The  noble  viscount  was 
silent,  the  challenge  was  not  accepted,  and  his  con- 
sistency remained  unimpeached.  I  am  more  inte- 
rested in  colonial  prosperity  than  either  of  them, 
having  no  desire  to  be  handed  over  to  the  tender 
mercies  of  republicans,  and  will  take  the  liberty  to 
refer  to  that  instance  that  was  so  triumphantly  dcr 
manded.  I  allude  to  a  more  deliberate  opinion,  the 
result  of  study  and  reflection,  emanating  not  from 
the  excitement  of  debate  and  the  conflict  of  party 
spirit,  but  from  the  retirement  of  his  closet.  On  a 
former  occasion  he  thus  expressed  himself  on  this 
subject : — 

'*  Each  nation  derives  greater  benefit  from  Iiaving 
an  increasing  market  in  one  of  its  own  provinces, 
than  in  a  foreign  country. 

"  The  colonial  trade  is  always  increasing  and  ca- 
pable of  indefinite  augmentation;  every  operation 
of  colonial  traflic  replaces  two  capitals,  the  employ- 
ment and  distribution  of  which  puts  in  motion  and 
supports  the  labour  of  the  different  members  of  tho 
same  state. 

•'  T!)c  increasing  wealth  of  Russia,  Prussia,  or 

3* 


IV  5 


im 


m't\ 


H' 


'  '    9 
^         It 

!  r 


ill 


i 


n 


I 


n 


I 


UO 


THE  BUBBLES 


Denmark,  can  never  benefit  Great  Britain  unless  by 
the  increasing  demand  for  British  produce  which  it 
may  occasion.  It  may,  and  often  is,  on  the  con- 
trary, turned  against  her  wealth  and  power ;  whilst 
the  riches  of  colonies  have  a  certain  tendency  to 
widen  the  market  for  British  produce,  and  can  never 
injure  the  wealth  or  power  of  the  mother  country. 

"  The  possession  of  remote  territories  is  the  only 
thing  which  can  secure  to  the  population  of  a  coun- 
try those  advantages  derived  from  an  easy  outlet, 
or  prospect  of  outlet,  to  those  persons  who  may  be 
ill  provided  for  at  home. 

"  It  is  absurd  to  represent  tho  defences  and  go- 
vernment of  colonics  as  a  burden,  it  is  ridiculous 
for  the  United  Kingdom  to  complain,  that  she  is  at 
the  expense  of  governing  and  defending  her  colo- 
nial territories." 

Among  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  the  *'dif- 
I'usion  of  useful  knowledge,"  it  is  certainly  not  the 
least  that  we  are  enabled  to  compare  the  professions 
of  public  men  with  their  acts,  and  the  actors  with 
each  other.  My  Lords  Brougham  and  Durham 
iiave  both  travelled  (he  same  road — selected  similar 
topics — supported  them  by  the  same  arguments — 
and  aimed  at  one  conclusion;  and  yet,  strange  to 
say,  they  stand  opposed  to  each  other.  Coming 
from  a  small  province,  and  a  very  limited  sphere 
of  action,  I  may  be  allowed  the  privilege  of  a 
stranger,  and  be  permitted  to  express  my  surprise. 
I  had  read  in  the  speech  to  which  1  have  referred, 
of  certain  commissioners  of  inquiry  who  were  plaped 
in  an  extraordinary  situation,  "  where  each  one 
generally  dilTered  from  his  colleague  in  the  views 


I 


OF  CANADA. 


27 


he  look  of  the  argument,  and  frequently  also  from 
himself;  but  both  agreeing  in  the  conclusions  at 
which  they  arrived,  by  the  course  of  reasoning  one 
way,  and  deciding  another."  It  is  an  awkward  po- 
sition for  men  to  be  found  in;  but  little  did  I  antici- 
pate finding  the  noble  author  illustrating,  in  his  own 
person,  the  case  he  has  described  with  such  pointed 
and  bitter  irony.  But  this  is  a  digression,  and  I 
must  return  to  my  subject. 

Whether  a  country  extending  over  such  an  im- 
mense space,  containing  such  a  great  and  growing 
population,  and  affording  such  an  extensive  and  pro- 
fitable trade,  has  been  misgoverned,  is  therefore  a 
(juestion  of  the  first  importance.  The  aflirmative 
of  this  proposition  which  the  governor-general  has 
advanced,  has  inspired  the  rebels  with  new  hopes; 
and  forms,  no  doubt,  a  principal  ingredient  of  that 
satisfaction  which  he  says  his  administration  has 
given  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighbouring  repub- 
lic. It  is  a  charge,  however,  in  which  the  honour 
of  the  nation  is  deeply  concerned,  and  should  neither 
be  flippantly  made  nor  easily  credited. 

In  the  month  of  October  following  the  treaty,  His 
Majesty  published  his  proclamation,  under  the  great 
seal  of  Great  Britain,  for  erecting  four  new  c,ivil  go- 
vernments, to  wit,  those  of  Quebec,  I'^^ast  Florida, 
West  Florida,  and  Granada,  in  the  countries  and 
islands  in  America,  which  had  been  ceded  to  the 
Crown  by  the  definitive  treaty.  In  this  proclama- 
tion the  King  exhorted  his  subjects  as  well  of  his 
kingdoms  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  as  of  his 
colonies  in  America,  to  avail  themselves,  with  all 
convenient  speed,  of  the  great  benefits  and  advan- 


i! 


I 


'it" 


28 


THE  HUDDLES 


ill 


tages  that  would  accrue,  from  the  great  and  valua- 
ble acquisitions  ceded  to  iiis  Majesty  in  America, 
to  their  commerce,  manufactures,  and  navigation. 
As  an  encouragement  to  them  to  do  so,  he  informed 
them  tiiat  in  the  commissions  he  had  given  to  the 
civil  governors  of  the  said  four  new  provinces,  he 
had  given  express  power  and  directions  that,  so 
soon  as  the  state  and  circumstances  of  the  said 
colonies  would  admit  thereof,  they  should,  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  members  of  his  Majesty's 
councils  in  tiic  said  provinces,  summon  and  call  ge- 
neral assemblies  of  the  people  within  the  said  go- 
vernments, in  such  manner  as  was  used  in  those 
colonics  and  provinces  in  America  which  were 
under  his  Majesty's  immediate  government;  and 
that  in  the  mean  time,  and  until  such  assemblies 
could  be  called,  all  persons  inhabiting,  in,  or  resort- 
ing to  his  Majesty's  said  colonies,  might  confide  in 
his  Majesty's  royal  protection  for  the  enjoyment  of 
the  benefit  of  the  laws  of  his  realm  of  England;  that 
for  that  purpose  his  Majesty  had  given  power,  under 
the  great  seal,  to  the  governors  of  his  Majesty's  said 
new  colonies, to  erect  and  constitute,  with  the  advice 
of  his  Majesty's  said  councils  respectivdy,  courts 
of  judicature  and  public  justice,  within  the  said 
colonies,  for  the  hearing  and  determining  all  causes, 
as  well  criminal  as  civil,  according  to  law  and  equi- 
ty, and  as  near  as  may  be,  agreeably  to  the  laws  of 
England;  with  liberty  to  all  persons  who  might  think 
themselves  aggrieved  by  the  sentence  of  such  courts, 
in  all  civil  cases,  to  appeal,  under  the  usual  limita- 
tions and  restrictions,  to  his  Majesty  in  his  Privy 
CounciL 


\ 


KJt   iji\aAun, 


Un  the  21st  day  of  November  1763,*  about  six 
weeks  after  the  publication  of  the  aforesaid  procla- 
mation, his  Majesty  issued  his  commission  of  cap- 
tain-general and  governor-in-chief  of  the  province 
of  Quebec,  to  Major-general  Murray,  which  was 
received  by  him,  and  published  in  the  province  in 
the  month  of  August,  17G4.  This  commission,  and 
the  insurrection  that  accompanied  it  every  where, 
pre-supposed  that  the  laws  of  England  were  in  force 
in  the  province,  being  full  of  allusions  and  references 
to  those  laws  on  a  variety  of  diflcrent  subjects,  and 
did  not  contain  the  least  intimation  of  a  saving  of 
any  part  of  the  laws  and  customs  that  prevailed 
there,  in  the  time  of  the  French  government. 

It  appears,  therefore,  upon  the  whole,  from  the 
proclamation  and  commission,  to  have  been  his 
Majesty's  intention,  with  respect  to  the  said  pro- 
vince of  Quebec,  to  assimilate  the  laws  and  govern- 
ment of  it  to  those  of  the  other  American  colonies 
and  provinces  which  were  under  his  Majesty's  im- 
mediate government,  and  not  to  continue  the  muni- 
cipal laws  and  customs  by  which  the  conquered  peo- 
ple had  heretofore  been  governed,  any  farther  than 
as  those  laws  might  be  necessary  to  the  preserva- 
tion of  their  property.  And  his  Majesty's  minis- 
ters, at  the  time  of  passing  those  instruments,  were 
evidently  of  opinion  that,  by  the  refusal  of  General 
Amherst  to  grant  to  the  Canadians  the  continuance 
of  their  ancient  laws  and  usages;  and  by  the  refer- 
ence made  in  the  fourth  article  of  the  definitive 
treaty  of  peace  to  the  laws  of  Great  Britain,  as  the 


^■1' 


II 


i-r|i 


•  See  Smith's  History  of  Canada. 


uo 


A  a  i  CI    t>  1.  13  r>  L<  ri  n 


l^i 


^i<! 


Ill 


measure  of  the  indulgenoc  intended  to  be  shown 
them  with  respect  to  the  exercise  of  tlicir  rehgion, 
suflicient  notice  iuul  been  given  to  the  conquered 
inhabitants  of  tiial  province,  that  it  was  iiis  Majes- 
ty's pleasure  thai  they  should  be  governed  for  the 
future  according  to  tiic  laws  of  England.  It  is  evi- 
dent also,  that  the  inhal)ilanis,  after  being  thus  ap- 
prized of  his  Majesty's  intention,  had  consented  to 
be  so  governed,  and  had  testified  their  said  consent, 
by  continuing  to  reside  in  the  country,  and  taking 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  his  Majesty,  when  they 
might  have  withdrawn  themselves  from  the  pro- 
vince, with  all  their  cllects,  and  the  produce  of  the 
sale  of  their  estates,  within  the  eighteen  months  al- 
lowed by  his  Majesty  in  the  treaty  of  peace,  for 
that  purpose. 

In  consequence  of  this  introduction  of  the  laws  of 
England  into  the  province,  by  the  aforesaid  procla- 
mation and  commission,  Governor  Murray  and  his 
Council,  in  the  great  ordinance  dated  on  the  17th 
day  of  September,  17G4,  (passed  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  civil  government  of  the  province,  for  the 
establishment  of  courts  of  justice  in  it,)  directed  the 
chief  justice  of  the  province  (who  was  to  hold  the 
superior  court  or  Court  of  King's  Bench,  established 
by  that  ordinance,)  to  determine  all  criminal  and 
civil  causes  agreeable  to  the  laws  of  England,  and 
the  ordinances  of  the  province;  and  the  Judges  of  the 
inferior  court,  established  by  the  said  ordinance 
(which  was  called  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,)  to 
determine  the  matters  before  them  agreeably^  to 
equity,  having  regard  nevertheless  to  the  laws  of 
England,  as  far  as  the  circumstances  and  situation 


'  f  V 


■''i 


•li 


«( 


OF  CANADA. 


31 


of  things  would  permit,  until  such  time  as  proper 
ordinances  for  the  information  of  the  people  could 
be  established  by  the  governor  and  council,  agreea- 
ble to  the  laws  of  England;  with  this  just  and  pru- 
dent proviso,  '  that  the  French  laws  and  customs 
should  be  allowed  and  admitted  in  all  causes  in  the 
said  court  between  the  natives  of  the  said  province, 
in  which  the  cause  of  action  arose,  before  the  1st 
day  of  October,  1761.' 

In  consequence  of  these  instruments  of  govern- 
ment, the  laws  of  England  were  generally  intro- 
duced into  it,  and  consequently  became  the  rule  and 
measure  of  all  contracts  and  other  civil  engagements 
entered  into  by  th.e  inhabitants  after  the  introduc- 
tion of  them,  that  is,  after  the  establishment  of  the 
civil  government  of  the  province,  or  after  the  said 
1st  day  of  October,  1761. 

At  this  time  the  population  of  Canada  amounted 
to  65,000  souls,  and  was  confined  to  the  banks  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  and  its  tributary  streams.     As  the  peo- 
ple had  now  liecomc  British  subjects,  it  was  deemed 
expedient  to  introduce,  as  soon  as  possible,  emigrants 
of  English  extraction,  as  well  for  the  purpose  of 
creating  a  defensive  power  within  the  province,  as 
to  induce  the  French  to  acquire  the  language,  and 
adopt  the  habits  of  their  conquerors.     The  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  army  that  had  served  in  America, 
were  rewarded  with  grants  of  land  in  the  country 
which  they  had  conquered,  and  liberal  offers  were 
made  to  people  in  the  other  provinces,  and  to  emi- 
grants from  Europe  to  remove  thither.     The  facili- 
ties of  internal  transport,  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and 
salubrity  of  the  climate,  operated  so  powerfully,  that 


.r  II 


■'I 

f 

1 

V-,  ■  i 


■V 


39 


THE  IIUBBLE3 


m 


ill  I 
ill 


in  a  short  time  the  influx  of  strangers  was  so  great 
as  to  induce  the  hope  that  it  would  speedily  rival  tlie 
New  England   states  in  population  and  in  wealth; 
and  no  douht  can  now  be  entertained  that  if  the 
terms  of  the  proclamation  had  been  honestly  adhered 
to,  these  expectations  would  have  been  fully  realized. 
As  a  matter  of  policy  nothing  could  have  been  more 
wise,  than  since  it  had  now  become  a  British  colony, 
to  endeavour,  ns  soon  as  possible,  to  make  it  so  in 
lact  as  well  as  in  name.     The  introduction  of  Eng- 
lish laws  had  a  natural  teiulcncy  to  disseminate  the 
language,  by  rendering  the  study  of  it  necessary  to 
the   Canadian  French,  and    a  constant  intercourse 
with  the  emigrants  could  not  fail,  by  rcnilerMig  their 
customs  familiar,  to  have  gradually  led  to  their  adop- 
tion.    This  change,  tliough  great  in  the  first  instance, 
and  no  doubt  repugnant  to  their  feelings,  would  have 
gradually  recommended  itself  to  the  French,  and  by 
the  time  a  new  generation  had  sprung  up,  all  incon- 
venience would  have  ceased  tj  be  felt  any  longer. 
The  first  fatal  error  that  was  committed  was  order- 
ing a  code  of  laws  to  be  prepared  for  the  province, 
with  such  modifications  as  would  secure  to  the  French 
the  system  of  tenure  and  inheritance,  to  which  they 
had  been  accustomed.     This  occasioned  much  delay, 
and  enabled  their  leaders  to  represent  that  any  change 
would  alienate  the  afiections  of  the  inhabitants,  who 
would  naturally  extend  to  the  government  the  dis- 
like that  they  felt  to  their  institutions.     Unfortu- 
nately, while  this  was  under  consideration,  the  time 
had  arrived  when  they  could  enforce  their  demands 
with  a  threat,  and  the  rebellion  which  shortly  after- 
wards broke  out  in  the  English  colonies  (now  con- 


f 


OP  CANADA. 


3;) 


f- 


stitutlng  the  United  States,)  made  their  conciliation 
become  a  matter  of  state  policy.  It  was,  therefore, 
determined  at  once  to  restore  the  French  laws  as 
they  existed  at  the  conquest,  and  the  celebrated 
Quebec  Act,  14  Geo.  3,  c.  83,  was  passed  for  that 
purpose.  This  statute  enacted,  "  that  his  Majesty's 
subjects  professing  the  religion  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  in  the  said  province  of  Quebec,  may  have, 
hold  and  enjoy,  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion, 
subject  to  the  King's  supremacy,  and  that  the  clergy 
of  the  said  church  may  hold,  receive,  and  enjoy  their 
accustomed  dues  and  rights,  with  respect  to  such 
persons  only  as  shall  profess  the  said  religion;  and 
that  it  shall  be  lawful  for  his  Majesty,  his  heirs  or 
successors,  to  make  such  provision  for  the  support 
of  the  Protestant  clergy  within  the  said  province,  as 
lie  or  they  shall  from  time  to  time  think  necessary 
and  expedient."  But  by  far  the  most  important 
clause  vms  that  which,  after  reciting  that  the  English 
laws  which  had  prevailed  there  for  ten  years,  admi- 
nistered and  regulated  under  commissions  to  gover- 
norSf  had  been  found  inapplicable  to  the  state  and 
circumstances  of  the  country,  enacted  that  from  and 
after  the  \st  of  May,  1775,  the  said  English  laws  and 
practice  of  courts  should  be  annulled.  It  is  true  that 
the  criminal  law  of  England  was  excepted,  and  that 
the  system  of  torture  which  had  been  in  previous 
existence  was  abolished  for  ever.  During  the  time 
they  were  under  French  domination  a  person  sus- 
pected of  crime  was  seized,  thrown  into  prison,  and 
interrogated,  without  knowing  the  charge  brought 
against  him,  and  without  being  confronted  with  his 
4 


I  ?!■ 


W    <     \    1 


I  'if 


^ 


r 


34 


THE  BUBBLES 


i  I 

II 


•^lli 


I!i. 


accuser.  He  was  deprived  of  the  assistance  cither 
of  his  friends,  relations,  or  counsel.  He  was  sworn 
to  tell  the  truth,  or  rather  to  accuse  himself,  without 
any  value  being  attached  to  his  testimony.  Ques- 
tions were  then  artfully  put,  which  are  described  as 
more  dilftcult  for  innocence  to  unravel  than  vice  to  ' 
deny.  The  prisoner  was  never  confronted  with  the 
person  who  had  deposed  against  him,  except  at  the 
moment  before  judgment  was  pronounced,  or  when 
the  torture  was  applied,  or  at  his  execution,  which 
judgment  in  capital  cases  was  invariably  followed 
by  confiscation  of  property.  This  act  also  consti- 
tuted a  council  with  the  power  to  make  ordinances, 
conjointly  with  the  governor,  but  not  to  impose 
taxes  except  for  making  roads.  The  ordinances 
were  to  be  laid  before  his  Majesty  for  allowance,  and 
those  touching  religion  not  to  bo  in  force  until  for- 
mally approved  of  by  the  King. 
^  This  flagrant  violation  of  the  promises  held  out  in 
the  proclamation,  and  of  the  terms  upon  which  the 
people  of  British  origin  had  settled  in  the  provinces, 
filled  them  with  dismay.  They  felt  that  they  had 
the  wretched  choice  presented  to  them  of  abandon- 
ing their  property  and  removing  from  the  colony, 
or  of  remaining  a  miserable  minority,  to  be  ruled 
and  governed  by  foreigners,  whose  favour  could  only 
be  conciliated  by  their  forgetting  their  country,  their 
language,  and  religion,  as  soon  as  possible,  and  be- 
coming Frenchmen.  They  accordingly  lost  no  time 
in  forwarding  petitions,  in  which  they  were  joined 
by  the  merchants  of  London,  interested  in  the  Notth 
American  trade,  to  the  king  and  the  two  houses  of 
parliament,  expressive  of  their  sense  of  the  injury 


1 


f 


or  CAITADA. 


3i) 


the 


they  had  duitained,  and  of  the  misery  likely  to  be 
entailed  by  this  act  upon  the  province,  but  no  repeal 
was  efTcctcd,  and  the  act  remained  as  it  was  passed. 

Importunity  often  prevails  against  conviction, and 
the  moal  noisy  applicant  is  generally  the  first  re- 
lieved, not  because  he  is  the  most  deserving,  but  be- 
cause he  is  the  most  troublesome.  The  French  Ca- 
nadians appear  to  have  been  fully  aware  of  this  fact, 
and  to  have  acted  upon  it;  and  the  English  finding 
their  opponents  first  in  the  field,  have  been  put  on 
the  defensive,  and  instead  of  seeking  what  was  due 
to  themselves,  have  been  compelled  to  expostulate 
that  too  great  a  share  has  been  given  to  their  rivals. 
The  advantage  gained  by  this  position,  the  former 
have  constantly  maintained;  and  it  is  a  singular  fact, 
that  while  the  latter  are  the  only  aggrieved  party  in 
the  country^  the  former  have  forestalled  the  attention 
of  the  public,  and  engrossed  the  whole  of  its  sym- 
pathy. Every  page  of  this  work  will  confirm  and 
illustrate  this  extraordinary  fact.  The  Quebec  Act 
was  obnoxious,  not  merely  to  the  British  party  in 
Canada,  but  to  the  inhabitants  of  those  colonics 
whose  gallantry  so  materially  contributed  to  its  con- 
quest. It  has  been  the  singular  fate  of  this  unfortu- 
nate bill  to  have  excited  two  rebellions.  It  caused 
the  cup  of  American  grievance,  which  'was  already 
filled  to  the  brim,  to  overflow  into  revolt,  and  has 
subsequently  given  rise  to  a  train  of  events  that  have 
induced  the  very  men  that  it  was  designed  to  conci- 
liate, to  follow  the  fatal  example  that  had  been  set 
to  them  by  their  republican  neighbours. 


i.* 


hii 


^- 


U'tl 


'   .i| 


^i 


36 


THE  BUBBLE'* 


!  M 


LETTER  IV. 

As  soon  as  the  struggle  had  ended  in  the  old  co- 
lonies, by  their  successful  assertion  of  independence, 
a  vast  emigration  of  the  loyalists  took  place  into  Ca- 
nada, comprising  a  great  number  of  persons  of  cha- 
racter and  property ;  and  these  people  who  had  been 
accustomed  to  th^,  exercise  of  the  electoral  privilege, 
united  with  those  of  their  countrymen  who  had  pre- 
viously settled  there  in  demanding  a  modification  of 
the  Quebec  Act,  and  the  establishment  of  a  local  le- 
gislature. The  petitions  of  these  people  gave  rise  to 
the  Act  of  the  31st  Geo.  3,  c.  31,  commonly  called 
the  Constitutional  Act,  to  which  and  to  the  Quebec 
Act,  of  the  14th  of  the  same  reign,  c.  S3,  alluded  to 
in  my  former  letter,  is  to  be  attributed  all  the  trouble 
experienced  in  governing  Canada.  In  the  fatal  con- 
cessions to  the  Canadians  contained  in  these  Acts,  is 
to  be  found  the  origin  of  that  anti-British  feeling 
which,  engendered  by  the  powers  conferred  by  those 
Acts,  has  increased  with  every  exercise  of  those 
powers,  until  it  has  assumed  the  shape  of  concen- 
trated hatred  and  open  rebellion.  By  this  Act  Canada 
was  divided  into  two  provinces,  respectively  called 
Upper  and  Lower  Canada.  The  latter,  to  which  all 
my  remarks  will  hereafter  be  confined,  lies  between 
the  parallels  of  the  45°  and  52°  of  North  latitude,  and 
the  meridian  of  57°  50'  and  80°  6'  West  longitude 
from  Greenwich.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the 
territory  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  on  the  east 


!ii 


OF  CANADA. 


37 


by  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  on  the  south  by  New 
Brunswick  and  part  of  the  United  States,  and  on  the 
west  by  a  line  that  separates  it  from  Upper  Canada, 
and  contains  more  than  250,000  square  miles. 

To  this  country  this  celebrated  Act  gave  a  consti- 
tution, consisting  of  a  Governor,  and  Executive 
Council  of  eleven  members,  appointed  by  the  Crown; 
a  Legislative  Council,  forming  the  second  estate,  ap- 
pointed in  like  manner  by  the  Crown,  consisting  of 
fifteen  members,  (but  subsequently,  as  we  shall  see, 
increased  to  forty;)  and  a  Representative  Assembly, 
or  House  of  Commons,  composed  of  fifty  members, 
(afterwards  increased  to  eighty-eight,)  each  having 
powers  as  nearly  analogous  to  those  of  King,  Lords, 
and  Commons,  as  the  varied  circumstances  of  the 
two  countries  and  the  dependence  of  the  colony 
would  admit. 

The  enacting  power  they  bestowed  upon  the  co- 
lony, introduced  from  year  to  year  another  set  of 
statutes,  in  addition  to  what  they  were  subject  to  al- 
ready, so  that  they  now  have  a  union  of  French, 
English,  and  provincial  law.  Such  a  confusion,  you 
may  easily  imagine,  imposed  great  difficulties,  as  well 
upon  those  who  had  to  administer,  as  those  who  were 
bound  to  obey  those  laws;  but  of  the  extent  of  those 
difficulties,  of  the  impediments  they  ofiered  to  the 
transfer  of  real  estate,  of  the  frauds  to  which  they 
gave  rise,  and  the  obstacles  they  presented  to  the 
settlement  and  prosperity  of  the  country,  it  is  im- 
possible for  an  Englishman  to  form  any  idea  without 
first  inquiring  into  the  structure  of  this  singular 
code.    The  subject,  however,  is  too  important  to  be 

4* 


*' 

.'i 

■       ■ 

r 

4 

f^HI 


ii.l 


I  m 


i\ 


38 


THE  BUBBLES 


disposed  of  in  this  cursory  manner,  and  I  shalf^ 
therefore,  even  at  the  hazard  of  being  thought  tedi- 
ous, endeavour  to  give  you  some  general  account  of 
the  situation  of  the  country  in  this  particular.  I  am 
the  more  induced  to  do  so,  because,  independent  of 
the  explanation  which  it  will  give  of  much  that  I 
have  to  say  to  you,  it  appears  to  be  indispensable  to 
the  full  understanding  of  the  Tenures'  Act,  which  is 
now  one  of  the  great  complaints  of  the  disaffected. 

There  exists  in  Lower  Canada  na  regular  code  in 
which  the  laws  of  tho  land  are  systematically  incor- 
porated, nor  would  it  indeed  be  a  task  of  ordinary 
difficulty  to  collect  and  condense  them,  so  diverse 
are  their  elements,  and  so  complex  their  character. ' 
The  jurisprudence  of  the  country  may  be  said  to  em- 
brace the  French,  the  English,  and  the  Roman  or 
civil  laws,  and  these  arc  all  so  blended  in  practice, 
that  it  is  often  doubtful  whence  the  rule  of  decision 
will  be  drawn,  although  the  line  of  distinction  is  bet- 
ter defined  in  theory.  The  statute  law  of  the  pro- 
vince may  be  stated  under  five  heads: — 1st,  The  ar- 
ticles of  capitulation,  that  form  part  of  the  guarantied 
rights  of  the  inhabitants;  2d,  The  31st  Geo.  III.  cap. 
31,  or  the  constitutional  act,  and  all  other  British 
statutes  expressly  extending  to  the  colonies;  3d,  The 
edicts,  declarations,  and  ordinances  of  the  Kings  of 
France  officially  registered  in  the  province;  4th,  The 
ordinances  of  the  governor  and  council  anterior  to 
1792;  and,  5th,  The  acts  of  the  provincial  legislature 
subsequent  to  1792.     The  common  law  is  the  cus- 


wi 


*  See  Bouchette. 


'i 


OP  CANADA. 


39 


torn  of  Paris  as  modified  by  the  customs  of  the  coun- 
try, and  this  law  was  co-extensive  with  the  whole 
province  until  the  passing  of  the  Canada  tenures'  bill 
in  1825,  which  restricted  the  application  of  the 
French  law  to  the  feudal  section  of  the  colony,  and 
introduced  bodily  the  English  laws  to  the  remainder 
of  the  province.  The  criminal  law  of  the  province 
is  the  English  code  as  it  stood  in  1774,  and  the  sta- 
tutes of  a  declaratory  or  modifying  nature  that  have 
since  passed  the  local  legislature. 

When  the  country  was  first  settled  by  the  Frencii. 
the  feudal  tenure  was  in  full  vigour  on  the  continent 
of  Europe,  and  naturally  transplanted  by  the  colo- 
nizers to  the  new  world.  The  King  of  France,  as 
feudal  lord,  granted  to  nobles  and  respectable  fa- 
milies, or  to  officers  of  the  army,  large  tracts  of 
land,  termed  seigniories,  the  proprietors  of  which 
were  termed  seigniors;  and  held  immediatelv  from 
the  King  en  fief,  or  en  rolure,  on  condition  of  render- 
ing fealty  and  homage  on  accession  to  seigniorial 
property;  and  in  the  event  of  a  transfer,  by  sale,  or 
gift,  or  otherwise  (except  in  hereditary  succe!«sion,) 
the  seigniory  was  subject  to  the  payment  of  a  qidnl. 
or  fifth  part  of  the  whole  purchase-money ;  and 
which,  if  paid  by  the  purchaser  immediately,  en- 
titled him  to  ihe  rabal,  or  a  reduction"  of  two-thirds 
of  the  quint.  The  custom  still  prevails,  the  King 
of  Great  Britain  having  succeeded  to  the  claims  of 
the  King  of  France.* 

The  position  and  extent  of  these  seigniorial  grants 
are : — 

'^  Sec  Martin's  '  Canada,'  and  House  of  Common  Report 


'1. 


1  ;:!.:" 


%\ 


fell 


t 


I 


<-'! 


40 


THE  BUBBLES 


la 


I 


Territorial  Division. 

•88 
Eg 

Eitent  of  8eignorial 
Grants. 

AlmAst  unilt 

for 
cultivation  in 

Arpents. 

Acres. 

the  Seignio- 
ries and  Fiefs. 

Quebec,  including  Anti- ) 
co»ti  and  otiinr  Tsleg.    j 

Montreal  and  Islands    • 

Three   Rivera    and    St. 
Francis,  &c. 

Gaspu  and  idles  - 

79 
03 
25 

1 

5,039,319 
3,209,900 
1,220,308 
1,547.080 

5,050,099 
2,780,011 
1,039,707 
1,318,117 

2,000,000 
500,000 
400,000 
000,000 

108 

12,070,079 

10,800,534 

4,100,000 

Estimating  the  number  of  acres  of  Land  in  Lower 
Canada  under  cultivation,  at  4,000,000,  it  will  be 
perceived  what  a  large  portion  of  territory  is  em-! 
braced  under  the  seigniories. 

Quints  is  a  fifth-part  of  the  purchase-money  of  an 
estate  held  en  ^e/*  which  must  be  paid  by  tKc  pur- 
chaser to  the  feudal  lord,  that  is,  to  the  King.  If  the 
feudal  lord  believes  the  fief  to  be  sold  under  value, 
he  can  take  the  estate  to  himself  by  paying  the  pur- 
chaser the  price  he  gave  for  'it,  with  all  reasonable 
expenses.  Reliefe  is  the  rent  or  revenue  of  one  year 
for  mutation  fine,  when  an  estate  is  inherited  only 
by  collateral  descent.  Lods  et  ventes,  are  fines  of 
alienation  of  one-twelfth  part  of  the  purchase-mo- 
ney, paid  to  the  seigneur  by  the  purchaser,  on  the 
transfer  of  property,  in  the  same  manner  as  quints 
are  paid  to  the  King  on  the  mutation  of  fief ;  and 
are  held  en  roture,  which  is  an  estate  to  which  heirs 
succeed  equally.  Franc  aleu  nMe  is  ^fief;  or  free- 
hold estate,  held  subject  to  no  seignorial  rights  or 
duties,  and  acknowledging  no  lord  but  the  King. 
The  succession  \o  fiefs  is  different  from  that  of  pro- 


OP  CANADA. 


41 


perty  held  en  rolure  or  by  villainage.     Tlie  eldest 
son,  by  right,  takes  the  chateau,  and  the  yard  ad- 
joining it;  also  an  arpent  of  the  garden  joining  the 
manor  house,  and  the  mills,  ovens,  or  presses  with- 
in the  seigniory,  belong  to  him;  but  the  profit  arising 
from  these  is  to  be  divided  among  the  other  heirs. 
Females  have  no  precedence  of  right,  and  when 
there  are  only  daughters,  the  fief  Is  equally  divided 
among  them.    When  there  are  only  two  sons,  the 
eldest  takes  two-thirds  of  the  lands,  besides  the  cha- 
teau, mill,  &c.,  and  the  younger,  one-third.    When 
there  are  several  sons,  the  elder  claims  half  the 
lands,  and  the  rest  have  the  other  half  divided 
among  them.    Censlve  is  an  estate  held  in  the  feudal 
manner,  subject  to  the  seigniorial  fines  or  dues.     All 
the  Canadian  habitans,  small  farmers,  are  censiiairen. 
Property,  according  to  the  laws  of  Canada,  is  e-Mier 
propre,  that  is  held  by  descent,  or  acquits,  which 
expresses   being   acquired    by  industry  or    other 
means.     Communis  de  hien  is  partnership  in  pro- 
perty by  marriage ;  for  the  wife,  by  this  law,  be- 
comes an  equal  partner  in  whatever  the  husband 
possessed  before  and  acquires  after  marriage,  and 
the  husband  is  placed  in  the  same  position  in  re- 
spect  to  the  wife's  dowry  property.  .    This    law 
might  operate  as  well  as  most  general  laws,  if  both 
husband  and  femme  came  to  the^«a/e  of  life  on  the 
same  day;  but  very  unhappy  consequences  have 
arisen  when  the  one  died  before  the  other.    For  in- 
stance, when  the  wife  dies  before  the  husband,  the 
children  may  claim  half  of  the  father's  property,  as 
heirs  to  the  mother;  and  the  mother's  relations  have 
often  persuaded  and  sometimes  compelled  them  so 
to  do. 


1  ■ 


»,8i 


^1. 


'H ,  f; 


lii!»-' 


49 


THE  BUBBLES 


Mil' 


The  dot  or  dowry,  is  the  property  which  the 
wife  puts  into  the  communis  de  Men :  moveable  or 
immoveable  property,  falling  to  her  by  descent,  is 
a  propre,  and  does  not  merge  in  the  community. 
Dower  in  Canada,  is  either  customary  or  stipulate. 
The  first  consists  of  half  the  property  which  the 
husband  was  possessed  of  at  the  time  of  marriage, 
and  half  of  all  the  property  which  he  may  inherit 
or  acquire — of  this  the  wife  has  the  use  for  life,  and 
the  children  may  claim  it  at  her  death.  If  they  be 
not  of  age,  the  wife's  relations  can  take  it  out  of 
the  father's  hands  for  them,  and  may  compel  him  to 
sell  his  property  to  make  a  division.  Stipulated 
dower  is  a  portion  which  the  husband  gives  instead 
of  the  customary  dower. 

Those  farmers  who  hold  land  from  the  seigneur 
en  roture,  and  who  are  termed  tenanciers  or  censi- 
taires  do  so  subject  to  certain  conditions,  viz. :  a 
small  annual  rent  from  2s.  Qd.  to  5s.  (or  perhaps 
more  of  late  years)  for  each  arpent  in  front,  to  this 
is  added  some  articles  of  provision  annually,  ac- 
cording to  the  means  of  the  farmer,  who  is  also 
bound  to  grind  his  corn  at  the  mouUn  banal,  or  the 
signeur's  mill,  when  one-fourteenth  is  taken  for  the 
lord's  use  as  a  mouture  or  payment  for  grinding. 
The  lods  el  ventes  form  another  part  of  the  signeur's 
revenue :  it  consists  of  a  right  to  one-twelfth  part  of 
the  purchase  money  of  every  estate  within  his 
seigniory  that  changes  its  owner  by  sale  or  other 
means  equivalent  to  sale :  this  twelfth  to  be  paid^by 
the  purchaser,  and  is  exclusive  of  the  sum  agreed 
on  between  the  latter  and  the  seller,  atid  if  prompt- 
ly paid,  a  reduction  of  one-fourth  is  usually  made 
(in  the  same  manner  as  two-thirds  of  the  quint  due 


or  OAKADA. 


43 


ac- 
also 

the 

the 
ling, 
iur's 
Irtof 
his 

)ther 
M'by 

rreed 

(mpt- 
lade 

\t  due 


to  the  crown  is  made.)  On  such  an  occasion  a 
privilege  remains  with  the  seigneur  but  seldom  ex- 
ercised, called  the  droit  de  retrain  which  confers  the 
right  of  pre-emption  at  the  highest  bidden  price 
within  forty  days  after  the  sale  has  taken  place. 

All  the  fisheries  within  the  seigniories  contribute 
also  to  the  lord's  income,  as  he  receives  of  the  fish 
caught,  or  an  equivalent  in  money  for  the  same:  the 
seigneur  is  also  privileged  to  fell  timber  any  where 
within  his  seigniory  for  the  purpose  of  erecting 
mills,  constructing  new  or  repairing  old  roads,  or 
for  other  works  of  public  and  general  utility.  In 
addition  to  the  foregoing  obligations  on  the  farmer, 
he  is,  if  a  Roman  Catholic,  bound  to  pay  to  his  cu- 
rate one  twenty-sixth  part  of  all  grain  produced, 
and  to  have  occasional  assessments  levied  on  him 
for  building  and  repairing  churches,  parsonage 
houses,  &c. 

The  duties  of  the  seigneur  to  his  tenants  are  also 
strictly  defined, — he  is  bound  in  some  ins'  .nces  to 
open  roads  to  the  remote  parts  of  his  fief,  and  to  pro- 
vide mills  for  the  grinding  of  the  feudal  tenants' 
corn;  he  cannot  dispose  by  sale  of  forest  lands,  but 
is  bound  to  concede  them,  and  upon  his  refusal  to  ic 
so,  the  applicant  may  obtain  from  the  Crown  the 
concession  he  requires,  under  the  usual  seigniorial 
stipulations,  in  which  case  the  rents  and  dues  apper- 
tain to  the  King. 

The  soccage  tenure,  like  the  franc  aleu  roturierj 
leaves  the  farmer  or  landholder  wholly  unshackled 
by  any  conditions  whatsoever  as  to  rents,  corvees, 
mutation  fines,  banaletS  (corn  grinding  obligation) 
without  in  fact  any  other  obligation  than  allegiance 


fl^n 


1  ., ; 


,    '\ 


1  n 


.1:1 


I-  ■:'■« 


.-M.HJUJ.Xr-Jl.J"' 


44 


THE  BUBBLES 


11 


to  the  King,  and  obedience  to  the  laws.  The  quan- 
tity of  land  thus  granted  in  Lower  Canada  amounts 
to  upwards  of  7,000,000  acres — while  under  the 
seigniorial  grants  there  are  nearly  11,000,000  acres 
held  by  a  vast  number  of  small  proprietors. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  conceive  how  the  statesman 
who  sanctioned  the  act  that  substituted  this  extraor- 
dinary code  for  that  of  England,  could  have  imagined 
it  could  ever  be  productive  of  any  thing  but  discord 
in  a  country  inhabited  by  two  races  of  different  ori- 
<;in  and  different  language.     Any  person  at  all  ac- 
ijuainted  with  the  prejudices  and  passions  that  operate 
on  man,  will  easily  understand  thattheFrench,  jealous 
(if  any  innovation,  are  constantly  suspicious  of  an 
intention  on  the  part  of  the  English  to  infringe  upon 
llicir  rights,  and  introduce  their  own  system  of  ju- 
risprudence, to  which  they  are  accustomed  and  at- 
tached, instead  of  that  v.'hicli  they  neither  under- 
stand nor  approve;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the 
English  naturally  an  enterprising  and  commercial 
people,  find  the  feudal  tenure  an  intolerable  burden, 
and  spurn  with  indignation  the  idea  of  being  sub- 
jected to  the  government  of  a  race  whom  they  have 
conquered,  and  to  the  operation  of  laws,  which 
even  the  people  with  whom  they  originated,  have 
rejected  as  unsuited  to  the  exigencies  of  the  times. 
In  addition  to  this  grievous  error  of  establishing  a 
code  of  laws  that  exists  nowhere  else,  three  others 
were  committed  of  equal  magnitude :  first,  in^  di- 
viding Canada  into  two  provinces,  and  thus  sepa- 
rating the  French  from  the  majority  of  the  English ; 
secondly,  in  permitting  the  language  of  the  courts, 


possi 

and 

toth 

and 

inhaf" 


(11  ' 


or  0AI7ADA. 


45 


and  the  records  of  the  legislature,  to  be  French; 
and,  thirdly,  in  giving  at  so  early  a  period,  and  be- 
fore the  people'were  fitted  to  receive  it,  a  constitu- 
tional government. 

The  concentrated  settlement  of  the  French  along 
the  shores  of  the  St.  Lawrence  necessarily  excluded 
the  English  emigrants  from  that  fertile  territory, 
and  compelled  them  to  remove  to  the  borders  of  the 
lakes.     In  addition  to  this  obvious  cause  of  their 
not  settling  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the 
Canadians,  it  is  evident  that  the  nature  of  the  feudal 
tenure  to  which  those  lands  were  subject,  and  the 
introduction  of  French  laws  in  direct  contravention 
of  the  proclamation,  rendered  such  a  separation  of 
the   two   races   inevitable.     Under  these  circum- 
stances one  would  naturally  have  supposed  that  a 
wise  government  would  have  endeavoured,  as  far  as 
possible,  to  counteract  the  tendency  of  these  causes, 
to  alienate,  as  well  as  separate,  these  people  of  dif- 
ferent origin.     But,  alas,  the  fatal  principle  of  con- 
ciliation had  now  been  adopted  as  the  rule  of  action, 
and  the  favourable  opportunity  of  Anglifying  the 
colony  and  amalgamating  the  population,  by  iden- 
tifying the  interests  of  both,  was  not  only  neglected, 
but  the  most  effectual  mode  was  adoptedto  make  the 
distinction  as  marked  and  as  permanent  as  possible. 
Not   content  with  this  act  of  folly  and  injustice, 
the  French  were  intrusted  with  an  almost  exclusive 
possession  of  the  popular  branch  of  the  legislature, 
and  even  constituted,  at  the  same  time,  toll-keepers 
to  the  adjoining  province.   Both  the  ports  of  Quebec 
and  Montreal  were  assigned  to  the  French,  and  the 
inhabitants  of  Upper  Canada  were  thus  cut  off  frono 
5 


i  fa 


■I 


,'!»       >■ 


'h 


f 


^i.i; 


mm 


in 


1  If 


(/ 


46 


THE  nUBBLES 


all  communication  with  the  mother  country,  bu( 
such  as  might  be  granted  by  the  Americans  or  their 
Gallic  neighbours.  If  the  persons  who  framed  that 
act  had  compared  the  state  of  the  revolted  colonies 
with  that  of  Canada,  and  reflected  that  they  were 
settled  nearly  a  century  later  than  the  other,  they 
certainly  never  would  have  attempted  to  do  such  in- 
justice as  to  subject  the  trade  of  another  colony  to 
the  exactions  of  an  illiterate  and  prejudiced  people. 
If,  however,  the  necessities  of  the  times  demanded 
a  sacrifice  on  this  important  point,  surely  they 
should  have  paused  before  they  gave  them  a  con- 
stitutional government,  and  inquired  whether  they 
were  sufficiently  intelligent  to  receive  the  institu- 
tions of  a  free  and  enlightened  people.  The  expe- 
riment of  constitutional  government  was  never  tried 
by  a  people  less  qualified  for  the  task  than  the  Ca- 
nadians. 

Until  the  conquest  they  may  be  said  to  have 
known  no  other  form  of  government  than  a  despotic 
one;  few  of  them  could  read  or  write,  and  the  ha- 
bits of  implicit  obedience  in  which  they  had  been 
trained  to  their  superiors  rendered  them  unable  to 
comprehend  the  nature  of  their  own  rights,  or  those 
of  the  other  branches  of  the  legislature.  Tb  j  powers 
exercised  by  the  several  French  governors  and  in- 
tendants  knew  no  bounds ;  and  unrestrained  by  law, 
their  decisions  were  dictated  by  the  caprice  of  the 
moment.  The  inhabitants  were  compelled  to  serve 
as  soldiers  without  pay,  in  the  frequent  wars  with'the 
English,  and  were  treated  wi»h  the  greatest  severity 
by  their  superiors.  The  exactions  of  the  military, 
instead  of  being  restrained,  were  encouraged,  and 


i    ;;■ 


OF  CANADA. 


«r 


on  all  occasions  the  protection  of  the  governor  or 
mtendant  was  necessary  to  ensure  success,  while 
merit  in  every  instance  was  overlooked,  llemon- 
stranccs  against  oppression  had  frequently  been  trans- 
mitted to  the  government  in  France,  but  were  always 
either  suppressed  or  disregarded.  Their  cliaracter 
at  this  period  is  thus  drawn  by  the  Abbd  Raynal, 
whose  account,  as  his  partiality  must  have  been  all 
in  their  favour,  I  prefer  as  tiie  most  unobjectiona- 
able.     He  observes : 

"  That  those  whom  rural  labour  fixed  in  the  coun- 
try, allowed  only  a  few  moments  to  the  care  of  their 
flocks  and  to  other  indispensable  occupations  during 
winter.  The  rest  of  the  time  was  passed  in  idleness 
at  public-houses,  or  in  running  along  the  snow  and 
ice  in  sledges,  in  imitation  of  the  most  distinguished 
citizens.  When  the  return  of  spring  called  them  out 
to  the  necessary  labours  of  the  field,  they  ploughed 
the  ground  superficially,  without  ever  manuring  it, 
sowed  it  carelessly,  and  then  returned  to  their  for- 
mer indolent  manner  of  life  till  harvest  time. 

"  This  amazing  negligence  might  be  owing  to  se- 
veral causes.  They  contracted  such  a  habit  of  idle- 
ness during  the  continuance  of  the  severe  weather, 
that  labour  appeared  insupportable  to  them  even  in 
the  finest  weather.  The  numerous  festivals  pre- 
scribed by  their  religion,  which  owed  its  increase 
to  their  establishment,  prevented  the  first  exertion, 
as  well  as  interrupted  the  progress  of  industry. 
Men  are  ready  enough  to  comply  with  that  species 
of  devotion  that  flatters  their  indolence.  Lastly,  a 
passion  for  war,  which  had  been  purposely  en- 
couraged among  these  bold  and  courageous  men, 
made  ihem  averse  from  the  labours  of  husbandry. 


i  '^  i! 


m 


'^  > 


i0>; 


/ 


/ 


. 


"li 


If 


M'l 


KB 


I  Id. 


48 


THE  BUBBLES 


Their  minds  were  so  entirely  captivated  with  mih- 
lary  glory  that  they  thought  only  of  war,  though 
thoy  engaged  in  it  without  pay. 

'•  The  inhabitants  of  the  towns,  especially  of  the 
capital,  spent  the  winter  as  well  as  the  summer  in 
a  constant  scene  of  dissipation.  Thoy  wore  alike 
insensible  of  the  beauties  of  nature  or  of  the  plea- 
sures of  the  imagination.  They  had  no  taste  for 
arts  or  science,  for  reading  or  instruction.  Their 
only  passion  was  amusement. 

"  There  appeared  in  both  sexes  a  greater  degree 
of  devotion  than  virtue,  more  religion  than  probity ; 
u  higher  sense  of  honour  than  real  honesty.  Su- 
perstition took  place  of  morality,  which  will  always 
be  the  case  whenever  men  are  taught  to  believe 
that  ceremonies  will  compensate  for  good  works, 
and  that  crimes  are  expiated  by  prayers." 

A  greater  folly  can  hardly  be  conceived  than  con- 
ferring a  constitutional  government  upon  a  people 
so  situated.  Wherever  the  experiment  has  been 
tried,  whether  in  France,  in  the  republic  of  South 
America,  in  Spain,  in  Portugal,  Greece,  Newfound- 
land, or"  Lower  Canada,  it  has  invariably  failed. 
The  constitution  of  England,  as  it  now  exists,  is  the 
growth  of  ages,  and  would  have  been  as  unsuitable 
to  our  ancestors  five  hundred  years  ago  as  it  is  to 
the  Lower  Canadians  of  the  present  day.  Regard 
must  be  had  to  the  character  and  condition  of  the 
people  to  whom  such  a  form  of  government  is  of- 
fered. What  may  suit  the  inhabitants  of  England 
may  be,  and  is,  very  unsuitable  to  those  of  any  other 
country.  It  is  not  sufficient  that  the  machinery  be 
good,  but  if  we  desire  to  avoid  accidents  and  en- 
sure success,  we  must  place  skilful  people  in  the 


or  CANADA.  #i 

unanagcmcnt  of  it,  wlio  arc  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  its  power,  and  have  a  |»rfcct  itnowledge  of 
its  principle  of  action.  Tiic  limited  monarchy  of 
England,  was  found  unsuitcd  to  America,  although 
the  people  were  of  Britisli  extraction,  accustomed 
to  free  institutions,  and  perfectly  instructed  in  its 
practical  operation.  The;  were  so  unfortunate  as 
not  to  possess  any  materials  out  of  which  to  con- 
struct a  House  of  Lords,  and  therefore  so  modified 
their  constitution  as  to  meet  the  altered  circum- 
stances of  the  country.  'Urn  humble  imitation  is  a 
cheap  article,  and  good  of  its  kind,  though  badly 
put  together;  but  a  better  and  more  costly  one 
would  not  have  corresponded  with  the  limited 
means  and  humble  station  of  a  poor  people.  Their 
choice  is  a  proof  of  <heir  wisdom,  and  their  having 
the  opportunity  to  choose,  at  a  time  of  life  when 
they  were  able  to  make  a  judicious  selection,  is  also 
a  proof  of  their  good  fortune.  Had  the  Canadians 
been  called  upon,  at  the  time  of  the  conquest,  to 
point  out  what  government  they  would  have  pre- 
ferred, they  would  unquestionably  have  solicited 
that  of  a  single  intendant;  they  had  never  known 
any  other,  and  it  was  the  only  one  for  which  they 
were  fitted.  So  strong,  indeed,  is  the  force  of  ha- 
bit, that  rejecting  the  constitution,  which  they  can- 
not understand,  and  do  not  appreciate,  they  have, 
after  a  vain  attempt  to  accommodate  themselves  to 
it,  resorted  to  the  usage  of  former  days,  and  (how- 
ever unfortunate  they  may  have  been  in  the  cha- 
racter and  conduct  of  the  person  they  selected  as 
their  leader,)  have  adopted  the  usage  of  their  fore- 
fathers, and  implicitly  yielded  their  confidence  and 
obedience  to  one  man. 


P'i' 


r    1 


"•'  ''ri 


.  n- 


50 


THE  BUBBLES 


LETTER  V. 


Having  thus  traced  historically  the  measures  of 
government,  from  the  conquest  of  the  country  to 
the  time  when  the  Constitutional  Act  went  into  ope- 
ration in  the  province  (26th  December,  1791,)  which 
forms  the  first  important  epoch  in  the  history  of  the 
colony,  I  shall  divide  the  time  that  intervened  be- 
tween that  period  and  the  present  into  four  other 
portions:  The  second  extends  from  the  meeting  of 
the  first  provincial  House  of  Assembly  in  December, 
1792,  to  1818,  when  a  demand  was  made  for  a  civil 
list;  the  third  from  thence  to  1828,  when  the  pre-' 
tensions  of  the  Assembly  had  assumed  a  distinct 
and  definite  form,  and  were  referred  to  a  commit- 
tee of  Parliament;  the  fourth  from  thence  to  1834, 
when  a  farther  reference  of  additional  grievances 
was  made  to  another  parliamentary  committee ;  and 
the  fifth  from  1834  to  the  present  period.     Such  a 
division  will  elucidate  the  growth  and  increase  of 
those  revolutionary  principles  (the  natural  and  ob- 
vious result  of  such  a  form  of  government)  which  first 
appeared  in  an  insidious  attempt  to  monopolize  the 
whole  civil  power  by  such  a  complete  control  in 
matters  of  legislation  and  finance  as  would  render 
her  Majesty's  representative,  and  the  Legislative 
Council,  subservient  to  the  interests,  prejudices,  and 
passions  of  the  French  Canadian  majority,  and  final- 
ly terminated  in  open  rebellion.     I  do  not  mean  by 
this  to  afiirm  that  all  that  has  since  transpired  was 


OF  CAVADA. 


SI 


.■^ 


I  l\ 


the  result  of  a  preconceived  design,  systematically 
acted  upon ;  but  as  uncontroU^U^ower  was  given  by 
the  constitution  to  the  French  party,  that  these  pre- 
tensions were  the  natural  result  of  such  a  power, 
and  that  they  were  unhesitatingly  put  forward  as 
soon  as  their  leaders  had  become  acquainted  with 
the  working  of  the  constitution,  and  aware  that  they 
were  invested  with  the  means  of  imposing  their  own 
terms  upon  government. 

The  first  assembly  met  on  the  17  th  of  December, 
1792,  and  as  the  representation  had  been  most  in- 
judiciously based  on  the  principle  of  population, 
thirty-five  out  of  the  fifty  members  of  tliis  first 
house  were  French,  and  fifteen  only  English,  a  mi- 
nority too  large  and  respectable  to  be  suffered  to 
continue  longer  than  to  teach  the  majority  the  forms 
of  business,  and  we  accordingly  find,  at  a  subse- 
quent period,  that  it  was  reduced  to  three.  The 
change  from  arbitrary  to  constitutional  government 
was  so  great,  that  the  French  were  for  some  time 
under  the  influence  of  those  grateful  feelings  which 
such  a  state  of  things  so  naturally  engendered.  In 
one  of  their  addresses  to  his  Majesty,  soliciting  the 
establishment  of  a  legislature,  they  thus  express 
their  sense  of  his  mild  and  paternal  government: 

"  Sir, — Your  most  obedient  and  faithful  new  sub- 
jects in  the  province  of  Canada  take  the  liberty  to 
prostrate  themselves  at  the  foot  of  your  throne,  in 
order  to  lay  before  you  the  sentiments  of  respect, 
affection,  and  obedience  towards  your  august  per- 
son, with  which  their  hearts  overflow,  and  to  return 
to  your  Majesty  their  most  humble  thanks  for  your 
paternal  care  of  their  welfare. 

"  Our  gratitude  obliges  us  to  acknowledge,  that 


■hI 


•  ■ 


''I 


>i>  I 


^m 


52 


THE  BUBBLES 


the  faithful  appearances  of  conquest  by  your  Ma- 
jesty's victorious  arms  did  not  long  continue  to  ex- 
cite our  lamentations  and  tears.  They  grew  every 
day  less  and  less,  as  we  gradually  became  more  ac- 
quainted with  the  happiness  of  living  under  the  wise 
regulations  of  the  British  empire.  And  even  in  the 
very  moment  of  the  conquest  we  were  far  from  feel- 
ing the  melancholy  effects  of  restraint  and  captivi- 
ty; for  the  wise  and  virtuous  general  who  conquered 
sovereign  who  intrusted  him  with  the  command  of 
us,  being  a  worthy  representative  of  the  glorious 
his  armies,  left  us  in  possession  of  our  laws  and  cus- 
toms; the  free  exercise  of  our  religion  was  preserved 
to  us,  and  afterwards  was  confirmed  by  the  treaty 
of  peace;  and  our  own  former  countrymen  were 
appointed  judges  of  our  disputes  concerning  civil 
matters.  This  excess  of  kindness  towards  us  we 
shall  never  forget.  These  generous  proofs  of  the 
clemency  of  our  benign  conqueror  will  be  carefully 
preserved  in  the  annals  of  our  history;  and  we  shall 
transmit  them  from  generation  to  generation  to  our 
remotest  posterity.  These,  Sir,  arc  the  pleasing 
ties  by  which,  in  the  beginning  of  our  subjection  to 
your  Majesty's  government,  our  hearts  were  so 
strongly  bound  to  your  Majesty;  ties  which  can 
never  be  dissolved, but  which  time  will  only  strength- 
en and  draw  closer." 

Impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  benefits  conferred 
upon  them  by  this  great  change,  tramelled  by  par- 
liamentary forms  with  which  they  were  wholly  un- 
acquainted, and  not  yet  aware  of  the  unlimited  means 
of  annoyance,  if  not  of  control,  with  which  they 
were  invested,  we  find  them  for  some  time  proceed- 
ing with  decorum  and  moderation.   But  there  were 


i:    4 


OF  CANADA. 


68 


"if{ 


not  wanting  those  in  the  colony  who  were  filled 
with  alarm  at  the  sight  of  the  first  Canadian  as- 
sembly, which,  even  with  the  largest  minority  ever 
known,  contained  a  majority  of  more  than  twice  as 
many  Frenchmen  as  Englishmen,  and  possessed 
the  power  to  increase  that  majority  at  its  plea- 
sure. Even  those  whose  faith  in  the  operation  of 
British  institutions,  had  led  them  to  hold  a  different 
opinion  as  to  the  result,  were  constrained  to  admit 
their  error,  when  they  found  the  house  proceeding 
to  choose  a  speaker,  who  admitted  his  inability  to 
express  himself  in  English  (a  precedent  of  choosing 
that  officer  from  the  majority,  which  has  ever  since 
been  followed,)  and  also  resorting  to  the  expensive 
mode  of  recording  their  proceedings  in  their  own 
ir;  guage.  They  perceived  with  grief  that  the  na- 
tural tendency  of  those  things,  instead  of  stimu- 
lating the  new  subjects  to  the  study  of  constitutional 
law  in  its  original  sources,  was  to  force  English- 
men to  study  French,  and  in  no  small  degree  to  be- 
come Frenchmen,  and  coalesce  with  the  nation  Ca- 
nadienne,  to  give  a  complete  ascendency  to  those 
of  foreign  origin,  their  laws,  language,  and  charac- 
teristics, in  the  popular  branch  of  the  legislature, 
and  to  encourage  in  the  leaders,  at  a  future  day, 
that  exclusive  ambition  that  now  distinguishes  them. 
They  could  not  fail,  also,  to  draw  an  unfavourable 
contrast  between  this  extraordinary  concession, 
and  the  more  provident  conduct  of  the  American 
Congress,  which,  while  admitting  the  territory  of 
Louisiana,  inhabited  by  Frenchmen,  as  one  of  the 
states  of  the  confederation,  enacted  that  all  minutes 
of  proceedings  in  the  court  and  legislature  of  their 
sister  state  should  be  exclusively  recorded  in  the 


1|;[, 


m  m 


!i| 


M 


;  ni     >■ 


fi*^.:'  r 


U- 


If 


^^ 


lull 


ill 


f 


54 


THE  BUBBLES 


language  of  the  constituency  of  the  United  States. 
This  judicious  enactment  has  naturally  made  the 
study  of  the  English  tongue  a  primary  object  with 
the  Louisianians,  and  though  in  numbers,  at  the  time 
of  admission,  they  were  about  half  the  amount  of 
the  Canadians  in  1791,  they  now  generally  speak 
or  understand  English,  and  have  changed  their  old 
laws  for  a  new  code-  while  ihe  legislature  and  peo- 
ple of  Canada  remain  as  much  French  as  the  inha- 
bitants of  Normandy. 

It  was  felt  that,  as  far  as  Englishmen  and  their  de- 
scendants were  concerned,  this  constitution  was  a 
mere  delusion.  At  a  very  early  period  we  find  them 
putting  in  practice  that  manajuvre,  which  became  so 
common  aft  rwards,  of  absenting  themselves  from 
the  house,  when  measures  were  to  be  considered 
to  which  they  were  averse,  and  thereby  compelling 
the  speaker  to  adjourn  the  debate  for  want  of  a  quo- 
rum. This  first  House  of  Assembly,  after  four  ses- 
sions, terminated  on  the  4th  of  May,  1796.  The 
conduct  of  the  members,  though  respectful  both  to 
the  governor  and  the  other  branch  of  the  legislature, 
gave  evident  proof  that  they  would  afford  no  en- 
couragement to  English  commerce  or  English 
settlers.  The  principle  adopted  and  acted  upon 
most  pertinaciously  was  to  avoid  direct  assessment, 
and  throw  all  public  burdens,  as  well  as  local 
charges,  upon  the  revenue,  to  be  derived  from  du- 
ties levied  off  of  trade.  It  was  in  some  measure 
owing  to  chance,  but  mainly  to  the  influence  of  the 
governor,  that  a  road  act,  so  important  to  the  coun- 
try, which  imposed  a  moderate  contribution  of  mo- 
ney or  labour  on  the  people,  for  the  improvement  of 
their  property,  was  carried  through  the  Assembly. 


or  CAVADA. 


55 


But  an  appeal  to  the  passions  and  prejudices  of  the 
people  by  their  embryo  demagogues  was  so  success- 
ful on  this  occasion,  in  representing  this  necessary 
act  as  the  commencement  of  foreign  taxation  and 
English  oppression,  that  they  attempted  to  starve 
out  the  inhabitants  of  Quebec  and  Montreal,  by  vvith- 
hol  'ing  all  the  usual  supplies  of  food.     A  bankrupt 
law  was  refused  to  the  request  of  the  merchants,  and 
they  also  declined  to  sanction  "  An  Act  to  Amend 
the  Laws,  Customs,  and  Usages  in  force  in  the  Pro- 
vince, relative  to  the  Tenure  of  Lands,  and  the  rights 
derived  therefrom,"  refusing  to  make  the  smallest 
sacrifice  to  what  they  called  the  cupidity  of  English 
landholders,  and  the  prejudices  of  American  settlers. 
So  peremptory,  indeed,  was  the  refusal,  that  the  fac- 
tion was  considered  decisive  as  to  any  innovation 
upon  the  French  laws,  which,  with  the  feudal  te- 
nures of  lands,  were  cherished  as  the  means  of  de- 
terring emigrants  from  seeking  an  asylum  in  the  pro- 
vince; thus  rendered  French  in  fact,  though  British 
in  name.     During  the  existence  of  this  house,  also, 
is  to  be  found  the  first  pretension  to  encroach  on  the 
right  of  the  Crown,  in  an  inquiry  into  the  forfeited 
lands  of  the  Jesuits,  and  a  claim  for  their  restoration 
to  French  control.     It  is,  however,  worthy  of  re- 
mark, as  forming  a  complete  contrast  with  recent 
conduct,  that  of  eleven  acts  sanctioned  ai  the  end  of 
the  session,  all  were  permanent  but  one. 

Thus,  my  dear  friend,  do  }'0U  see  that  the  causes 
of  the  present  posture  of  affairs  are  to  be  traced  back 
to  a  very  early  period,  not  as  my  Lord  Durham  has 
asserted,  to  misgovernment  of  the  Canadians,  but  to 
inconsiderate  concessions,  which  though  designed  to 


56 


TBI  BUBBLES 


conciliate  them,  have  not  only  signally  failed  of 
their  object,  but  been  productive  of  mischief  to  them- 
selves, and  incalculable  injury  to  the  colony.  That 
this  is  the  view  that  impartial  men  take  of  the  sub- 
ject, appears  from  the  following  extract  from  the 
work  of  a  distinguished  foreigner,  the  author  of  the 
Resources  of  America:* 

'♦  The  unwise  act  of  Lord  Grenville,  passed  through 
Parliament  in  the  year  1794,  permitting  the  people 
of  Lower  Canada  to  conduct  their  pleadings  and  pro- 
mulgate their  laws  in  the  French  language,  has  pre- 
vented them  from  ever  becoming  British,  and  so  far 
weakened  the  colony  as  an  outwork  of  the  mother 
country.  It  has  always  been  the  policy  of  able  con- 
querors, as  soon  as  possible,  to  incorporate  their  van- 
quished subjects  with  their  own  citizens,  by  giving 
them  their  own  language  and  laws,  and  not  suffer- 
ing them  to  retain  those  of  their  pristine  dominion. 
These  were  among  the  most  efficient  means  by 
which  ancient  Rome  built  up  and  established  her 
empire  over  the  whole  world;  and  these  were  the 
most  efficient  aids  by  which  modern  France  spread 
her  dominion  so  rapidly  over  the  continent  of  Eu- 
rope. While  Lower  Canada  continues  to  be  French 
in  language,  religion,  laws,  habits,  and  manners,  it  is 
obvious  that  her  people  will  not  be  good  British 
subjects;  and  Britain  may  most  assuredly  look  to  the 
speedy  loss  of  her  North  American  colonies,  unless 
she  immediately  sets  about  the  establishment  of^an 
able  statesman-like  government  there,  and  the  di- 
rection thitherward  of  that  tide  of  emigration  from 


*  Bristow. 


i'i. 


OP  CANADA. 


57 


her  own  loins,  which  now  swells  the  strength  and 
resources  of  the  United  States.  Her  North  Ameri- 
can colonies  gone,  her  West  India  islands  will  soon 
follow." 

The  second  House  of  Assembly  was  opened  on 
the  25th  of  January,  1797,  and  ended  in  1801.    The 
privilege  of  participating  in  the  legislative  power  of 
the  country  for  four  years,  had  awakened  the  mem- 
bers to  a  sense  of  their  own  importance,  and  the  C  a 
nadian  French  to  a  knowledgeof  their  supremacy;  and 
they  accordingly  returned  a  more  democratic  house 
than  the  preceding,  and  representatives  pledged  to 
an  exclusive  devotion  to  the  interests  of  their  own 
\iariy.     The  prejudices  awakened  by  the  Road  Act, 
and  the  fraternising  doctrines  of  the  French  revolu- 
tion, contributed  also  to  produce  this  result.     It  is 
true  the  minority  were  only  reduced  to  fourteen;  but 
the  attorney-general  was  defeated  as  a  candidate  for 
the  county  of  Quebec,  and  several  influential  mem- 
bers of  the  lato  house  shared  a  similar  fate;  so  that 
although  the  numerical  proportions  were  nearly  si- 
milar, the  British  interest  was  evidently  already  on 
the  decline. 

A  manifest  change  had  taken  place  in  the  feelings 
of  the  different  branches  of  the  legislature.     The 
governor,  acting  on  the  defensive,  no  longer  pro- 
posed measures  of  internal  improvement,  which  he 
knew  would  provoke  angry  discussions,  or  be  met 
rAih  a  refusal;  but  relied  more  upon  the  Legislative 
Council;  which  alone  represented  or  protected  Bri- 
tish interests,  while  the  house,  finding  that  tempo , 
rary  acts  had  a  direct  tendency  to  lessen  the  influ  - 
ence  and  independence  of  the  executive,  disconti- 
6 


•  1 ' 

r  ■  i 

r         «1 


■' 


It 


»i^  I; 


-  \        • 

'i 


',1 


;, 


.).S 


THE  CUBDLKS 


nueci  the  practice  of  passing;  permanent  laws.  To 
remedy  the  evil  of  having  so  many  prejudiced  and 
illiterate  members  in  the  assembly,  it  was  proposed 
by  the  minority  to  establish  a  qualification,  which, 
although  it  could  not  possibly  increase  their  own 
numbers,  it  was  hoped  miglit  at  least  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  affording  them  more  liberal  and  enlight- 
ened colleagues;  but  this  measure,  like  all  others  in- 
troduced by  them,  was  considered  of  foreign  origin, 
and  excluded  accordingly.  Tlie  majority,  however, 
though  pertinacious,  still  preserved  appearances,  and 
;is  the  minority  fell  thcmsclvos  unequal  to  procure 
the  passage  of  any  bill,  cither  of  internal  improve- 
ment or  for  the  facilitating  the  foreign  trade,  they 
i'orbore  to  provoke  the  discussion,  and  preferred 
t'sing  their  influence  to  the  )nerc  preservation  of 
what  few  privileges  were  lefi  to  them.  The  third 
provincial  parliament  began  on  the  1st  of  January, 
ISOl,  and  terminated,  after  five  sessions,  on  the  2d 
ot'  May,  1804.  The  1eni])cr  of  this  house,  and  the 
proportion  of  its  parties,  ^vorc  similar  to  that  of  the 
lasr. 

Among  the  topics  insisted  ii]  lOii  in  the  governor's: 
'Speech,  was  a  recommendrition  for ,')  grant  of  money 
for  free  schools  for  the  inslrnction  ol'  tlie  rising  gene- 
ration in  the  first  rudiments  of  useful  learning,  and 
<n  the  English  tongue:  and  it  was  noticed  with  ff  ;1- 
sngs  of  grief,  though  not  with  surprise,  that  the  house, 
in  their  reply,  omitted  the  words  "  English  tongue," 
and  shortly  afterwards  applied  the  commentary  Jby 
a  vote  for  the  purchase  of  "  French  books,"  for 
the  use  of  the  members.  Although  there  were  not 
a  few  of  their  number   who  were   unfortunately 


or  CANADA. 


Ji) 


uicapable,  from  a  deficiency  of  education,  of  using 
ihcni,  yet  it  was  evident  that  tiicrc  existed  as  little 
luciiiiation  to  adopt  the  iaiiguagc,  as  there  \vas  lo 
introduce  the  laws  of  Groat  Britain. 

In  accordance  with  this  spirit  of  })rcfcrencc  tor 
French  laws,  an  act  was  passed  to  revive  tlio  ser- 
nicnt  decisoirc,  or  oath  by  which,  under  certain 
circumstances,  a  debtor  may  bo  permitted  to  clerj 
himself  of  a  commercial  debt,  by  simply  swearing 
to  its  iiaving  been  paid  and  satisfied,  without  oven 
stating  the  time  or  place  of  payment;  an  act  which 
has  been  described  as  a  most  jn'olific  source  ol 
iraud  and  perjury,  and  deeply  injurious  to  the  nic - 
cantile  interests  of  the  country,  as  well  as  to  the 
character  of  the  people.  Such,  indeed,  was  the 
jealousy  of  the  mojorily  of  the  English,  that  they 
were  not  inclined  to  pass  even  those  laws,  whicb 
had  an  exclusive  apjdication  to  them  and  their  te- 
nures. Thus  a  bill  was  introduced  for  rcgisterinfr 
deeds  of  lands  in  free  and  common  soccage,  wliich 
only  allected  the  English,  but  it  met  with  the  custo- 
mary fate  of  all  such  attempts. 

Tlie  leaders  began  now  to  allect  to  pcrcei\o  a 
iatent  danger  in  every  act  of  the  government,  and 
a  bill  re(iuiring  rectors,  curates,  and  priests  to  read 
certain  laws  after  divine  service,  was.  denounced 
as  opening  a  door  for  exercising  an  influence  over 
the  clergy;  and  an  eflbrt  was  made  to  introduce  m 
their  stead  the  captains  of  militia,  which  was  only 
relinquished  to  avoid  the  awkward  admission  that 
too  many  of  those  ofticcrs  were  deficient  in  the  ne- 
cessary qualification  to  perform  the  duty.  The 
great  increase  of  the  trade  of  the  province  at  this  time, 
in  consequence  of  the  war,  so  far  from  exciting  the 


H 


•1 


1 


f'>''  :i 


^',/fii 


< 


00 


THE    DUUBLKS 


omulation  of  the  French,  and  stimulating  them  to 
participate  in  its  advantages,  awakened  their  jea- 
lousy, and  they  stigmatized  it  as  the  parent  of  crime, 
the  source  of  undue  distinctions,  and  the  means  of 
filling  the  country  with  persons  of  foreign  origin. 
They  not  only  declined  in  any  way  to  aid  its  exten- 
sion, but  imposed  taxes  upon  it  for  all  those  objects 
that  elsewhere  in  America  arc  provided  for  by  local 
assessment.     Such  conduct  could  not  fail  to  retard 
the  improvement  of  the  country,  by  preventing  the 
investment  of  capital,  and  discouraging  enterprise; 
and  that  it  had  this  cfrcct  is  evident  from  the  slow 
growth  of  Lower  Canada,  when  compared  with 
that  of  tiic  adjoining  colony,  where  a  diflcrcnt  system 
])revailcd.    The  fourth  house  of  assembly  met  on  the 
11th  Januarv,  1805,  and  terminated,  after  four  ses- 
sions,  on  the  Hth  April,  1808. 

The  pressure  of  the  feudal  tenure  becoming  daily 
more  and  more  severely  felt  by  the  inhabitants  of 
the  cities,  two  unsuccessful  attempts  were  now  made 
to  obtain  some  mitigation  oT  it.     The  first  was  a 
bill  to  abolish  the  retrait  lignagcr,  or  right  of  re- 
demption by  the  relations  of  seignoral  lands.     Any 
relation,  it  was  stated,  of  the  seller,  if  of  the  same 
line,  from  whence  the  property  descended,  may, 
within  a  year  and  a  day,  by  this  law,  take  it  from 
the  purchaser  of  the  proi)eriy,  on  condition  of  re- 
turning the  price.     A  person,  therefore,  buying  a 
lot  of  land  for  one  iiundred  pounds,  and  expending 
upon  it  one  thousand  in  buildings,  may  be  depriv-ed 
of  the  whole,  by  a  relation  of  the  seller*  refunding 


*  See  "  Political  Annals ;"  also  Canadian  Magazine. 


OF  CANADA. 


8t 


\ho  origiiiul  purcliasc-inoncy,   buildings  nol  hciiig 
considered  ncocssary  cxjiciiscs. 

Tiie  second  was  •*  a  bill  to  enable  the  seiuncurs 
to  conipound  for  ihcir  feudal  rights  and  lIuch  with 
their  vassals  and  ceusilaires/'  This  was  particularly 
intended  as  a  relief  against  the  di^coura'^'ing  cllects 
of  lods  and  vents,  by  which  the  twelfth  |»art  of  the 
labour  and  expense  of  erecting  buildings  (however 
expensive)  on  ground,  subject  to  the  imposition,  is 
for  the  benefit  of  the  seigneur.  These  bills,  how- 
ever, like  all  that  had  preceded  ihcin,  for  similar 
puri)0sc»',  did  not  receive  a  second  reading,  nor  was 
any  remedy  applied  until  the  Imperial  Parliament 
interfered  nearly  twenty  years  aftcrwanls.  To 
show,  however,  the  nature  of  the  change  which 
these  leaders  were  dis)>osed  to  patronise,  they  voted 
£'750  for  translatini}-  llatsell's  Parliamenatrv  I'ro- 
cecdings  into  French,  and  to  rebut  the  charge  of 
their  aversion  to  internal  improvement,  and,  to  show 
tiiey  were  not  inattentive  to  the  agricultural  pros- 
perity of  the  province,  they  passed  a  bill  enjoining 
the  application  of  tar  to  apple  trees  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  caterpillars.  From  a  body  thus  constituted 
little  good  could  be  expected.  The  irierchants  and 
other  British  subjects  resident  in  Canada,  finding  all 
attempts  in  the  legislature  useless,  appealed,  through 
the  medium  of  the  press,  to  the  sympathies  of  the 
English  public.  They  contended  that  if  the  support 
of  the  civil  government  were  not  to  rest  on  direct 
taxes,  it  should  at  least  be  secured  by  permanent 
acts  of  indirect  taxation — that  local  establishments, 
such  as  court-houses,  jails,  and  houses  of  correction, 

should  be  defrayed  by  assessments  on  the  districts 

6* 


»  i 


''i.  I 


I'i'if 


ea 


THE  nunuLRs 


for  whoso  benefit  ihcy  were  required,  and  that  re- 
course should  be  had  to  indirect  taxes  of  temporary 
duration,  only  for  the  general  improvement  of  the 
country  in  its  internal  communications  with  the 
adjoining  states  and  colonics^  or  its  agriculture  and 
commerce. 

Tills  was  denounced  by  the  demagogues  of  the 
day  as  an  attack  upon  the  liberties  of  the  subject; 
and  certain  toasts  at  a  public  dinner,  approving  of 
those  commercial  and  financial  views  of  the  mino- 
rity, were  voted  to  be  an  insult  to  the  majesty  of 
the  house,  and  warrants  were  issued  against  the 
printers,  who  were  taken  into  custody,  and  com- 
pelled to  apologize  for  their  conduct.*     It  is  worthy 


\i 


*  Tliiit  "our  opjircsscil  and  enslaved  hrtthrcn  in  Canada"  knew 
Jiow  to  viiiiliciiti;  tliciii.^clves,  und  cntiTtuincil  just  notions  on  tlic 
subject  of  llic  liberty  of  tbo  prcsn,  will  appear  frouj  a  j)cru«I  of 
the  toiiKts  that  culled  down  the  indignation  of  the  house,  und  oc- 
casioned the  issuing  of  warrants  to  apprehend  tlic  president  of  the 
social  meetings  that  sanctioned,  and  the  printers  that  dared  to 
disseininiitc  t-ueli  wieluid  doctrines. 

1.  Tin;  honounible  nicmljcrs  of  the  Icgishitive  council,  who  were 
friendly  to  constitutional  tjxation  as  pro|K)sed  by  our  worthy  mcni- 
bcrs  in  the  House  of  Assembly. 

3.  Our  representatives  in  provincial  parliament,  who  propolcd 
i\  constitutionul  and  proper  mode  of  taxation,  for  building  jails, 
and  who  opposed  a  tax  on  commerce  for  that  puriiosc,  as  contrary 
to  the  sound  priiclicc  of  the  parent  slate. 

3.  May  our  representatives  be  actuated  by  a  patriotic  spirit  for 
the  good  of  the  province,  os  dependant  on  the  Rritish  empire,  and 
divested  of  local  prejudices. 

4.  Prosperity  to  the  agriculture  and  commerce  of  Canada,  and 
may  they  aid  each  other  as  their  true  interests  dictate,  by  sharing 
n  doe  proportion  of  advantages  and  burdens. 

5.  Tlic  city  and  county  of  Montreal,  and  the  grand  juries  of  the 
district,  who  recommended  local  assessment  for  local  purposes. 

C.  May  the  city  of  Montreal  be  enabled  to  support  a  newspaper, 


or   CANADA. 


63 


o 


of  remark,  that  at  this  time  the  first  ottompt  was 
made  to  procure  a  drawback  of  duties  on  articles 
that  were  exported  nftcr  having  first  paid  a  duty; 
but,  as  usual,  it  failed  in  a  body  whose  whole  spirit 
was  anti-commercial.  These  instances  are  ad- 
duced, not  for  their  intrinsic  importance,  but  as 
illustrative  of  the  question  proposed  by  mo  ^or  your 
consideration  in  my  first  letter,  whether  disalfec- 
tion  has  not  given  rise  to  grievances,  rather  than 
grievances  to  disonbction.  Having  nov  tasted  the 
sweets  of  power  in  the  punishment  of  il  i)  printera, 
the  Jiousc  commenced  a  system  of  high-iionded 
measures  with  any  person  wiio  obslruc'cd  ihe'r 
views;  and  followed  it  up  by  removing  from  iho 
house  all  persons  attached  to  the  executive,  and 
impeaching  (Mhers  holding  high  ollicial  stations  in 
the  hope  that,  by  representing  the  adherents  of  go- 
vernment as  enemies  to  the  country,  the  aflections 
of  the  people  would  be  gradually  alienated  from 
their  rulers,  and  ultiinatcly  prc|)are  them  to  join  in 
those  measures  of  forcible  resistance,  which  now, 
for  the  first  time,  appear  to  have  been  contem- 
plated. The  first  experiment  was  made  by  the 
expulsion  from  the  house,  contrary  to  the  constitu- 
tional act,  of  Ezekiel  Ilart,  on  account  of  his  pro- 
fessing the  Jewish  religion.  This  mcsuru  naturally 
alarmed  the  British  inhabitants,  an  J  .  .ve  them  a 
melancholy  foreboding  of  tiie  events  that  were  in 
reserve  for  them.    The  violent  language  of  debate, 


.^11 


it 

i 


1  >,  '.'■■ 


though  deprived  of  its  natural  and  useful  advantages,  apparently' 
for  the  benefit  of  an  individual. 

7.  May  the  commercial  interests  of  this  province  have  its  due 
influence  on  the  administration  of  its  government. 


114 


THE  LUBRLE:< 


I 


die  constant  appeal  to  popular  prejudice,  the  undis- 
guised anti-English  feeling  of  the  legislative  dema- 
gogues, and  the  seditious   and  revolutionary  lan- 
guage of  the  "  Canadian  "  newspaper,  devoted  to 
their  interests,  left  no  room  to  hope  that  the  consti- 
tution could  long  work,  in  such  unskilful  and  un- 
])rincipled  hands.     The  fifth  provincial  parliament 
was  opened  by  ti>ir  James  Craig  on  the  lOih  of 
April,  1809,  when  theh-  attention  was  called  to  the 
unsettled  state  of  alTairs  with  the  Americans,  and 
they  were  required  to  consider  of  such  means  as 
might  be  necessary  to  place  the  province  in  a  pos- 
iurc  of  defence.     Instead  of  [irocceding,  according 
to  the  urgency  of  the  case,  to  deliberate  on  this 
pressing  emergency,  they  commenced  by  an  attack 
on  the  judges,  and  devising  the  means  ftf  removing 
them  from  the  legislature;  and  manifested  so  much 
heat  in  their  proceedings,  and  such  a  disrespectful 
inattention  to  the  subject  submitted  to  them,  that, 
after  five  weeks  wasted  in  angry  discussions,  the 
governor  was  under  the  necessity  of  expressing  his 
di'^pleasure  by  a  dissolution.     On  meeting  the  sixth 
))arliament,  which  assembled  on  the  29th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1810,  he  informed  them  that  he  was  instructed 
to  assent  to  any  bill  for  rendering  the  judges,  in  fu- 
ture, ineligible  to  seats  in  the  house  of  assembly,  in 
which  the  two  houses  should  concur.     This  house, 
though  a  little  moderated  in  tone  by  the  firmness 
exhibited  in  dissolving  them,  were  not  to  be  di- 
verted  from  its  schemes  of  ambition ;  and  now,  for 
the  first  lime,  was  developed  that  deep-laid  plan, 
which  has  since  so  signally  succeeded,  of  placing 
every  officer  of  the  government  at  the  mercy  of  the 


proA 
so  t 


(I 


It 


■1     I 


OF  CANADA. 


6d 


popular  branch,  and  rendering  the  arm  of  the  exe- 
cutive perfectly  powerless.  On  the  lOlh  of  Febru- 
ary they  resolved,  most  unexpectedly,  "  that  this 
house  will  vote  in  this  session  the  necessary  sums 
for  defraying  the  civil  expenses  of  the  government 
of  this  province."  Animated  by  the  prosperous 
state  of  the  revenue,  in  consequence  of  the  Ame- 
rican embargo,  the  opportunity  was  considered  a 
favourable  one,  by  assuming  the  civil  list,  to  gel  a 
control  over  the  officers  of  government,  icho,  being 
servants  of  the  imperial  state  as  well  as  the  colony, 
would,  by  this  measure,  be  at  the  mercy  of  the 
house,  which  would  thus  become  alike  independent 
of  foreign  or  domestic  control.  As  long  as  the  ex- 
penditure of  the  civil  establishment  exceeded  the 
revenue,  derived  from  taxes  on  commerce,  their 
liberality  was  content  to  permit  the  deficiency  to 
be  supplied  by  parliament;  but  now  that  the  trea- 
sury was  more  than  adequate  to  the  task,  they 
thought  that  a  voluntary  ofTer  of  this  kind  would 
throw  the  government  otT  of  its  guard,  and  be  pro- 
bably accepted.  The  governor  at  once  penetrated 
their  designs,  and  very  prudently  and  properly  an- 
swered, that  it  would  be  necessary  to  have  the 
concurrence  of  the  legislative  council,  "  in  a  matter 
in  which,  not  '.Tierely  as  a  co-ordinate  branch  of  the 
legislature,  but  as  composed  of  individuals  having 
a  large  stake  in  the  country  it  was  interested ;"  but 
that  he  would  transmit  to  his  Majesty  their  address 
as  a  proof  of  their  abihty  and  their  willingness  to 
provide  for  the  civil  expenditure  when  called  upon 
so  to  do. 


4 


!      \' 


\l 


.^!   V 


iif 


«!i  iil 


n 


]i 


60 


THE  BUBBLES 


In  this  year  (1810)  the  treasury  receipts  were, 

£70,398  13     7 
And  the  expenditure,     ....    58,504  14     3 


Leaving  a  clear  surplus  revenue  of  11,833  It)  ■] 
A  bill  disqualifying  the  judges  was  passed,  and 
isent  to  the  legislative  council,  who  agreed  to  it, 
with  a  clause  suspending  its  operation  to  the  end  of 
1  he  present  house  of  assembly.  Anxious  to  show 
I  heir  contempt  of  the  legislative  council,  and  for- 
getful, as  well  of  the  respect  due  to  the  representa- 
tive of  the  King,  as  of  constitutional  rights,  they 
unmediately  expelled  the  judges  by  resolution,  as 
they  had  previously  done  Mr.  Hart,  leaving  the  go- 
vernor in  the  dilemma  of  sanctioning  the  act  by  is- 
suing new  writs  for  elections,  or  of  dissolving  the 
house.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  he  adopted  the 
latter  course,  and  appealed  again  to  the  sense  of 
the  public.  But  here,  unhappily,  there  was  no  pub- 
lic opinion  to  appeal  to,  which,  in  the  words  of  a 
very  able  provincial  writer,*  is  explained: — "by 
the  peculiar  habits  of  thought  and  character,  which 
distinguish  the  French  Canadians.  These  habits 
and  character,  originally  formed  by  the  despotic 
government,  civil,  military,  and  ecclesiastical,  of 
Louis  the  Fourteenthof  France,  induced  the  French 
Canadian  population  chiefly  to  regard  the  immedi- 
at'  agents  of  authority,  who  came  in  daily  or  fre- 
quent contact  with  them,  by  oral  command  or  corjn- 
niunication.  Thus,  long  after  the  conquest,  the 
lowest  agent  of  authority  had  only  to  present  him- 
self, in  the  name  of  the  King,  to  be  instantly  obey- 

•  Mr.  Fleinming. 


OF   CANADA. 


67 


cd.  It  wus  not  a  king,  a  governor,  a  general,  a 
judge,  or  a  bishop,  with  whom  they  had  personal 
communication;  these  awful  authorities  they  sur- 
veyed at  a  distr.nce,  with  due  reverence;  but  their 
immediate  obedience  was  considered  as  due  to  a 
seigneur,  a  justice  of  peace,  an  officer  of  militia,  a 
bailifT,  and  a  cure,  or  priest.  When  the  British 
Parliament,  therefore,  established  a  house  of  assem- 
bly, the  members  of  that  newly  constituted  authori- 
ty, though  chosen  by  themselves,  were  admitted  to 
a  great  share  of  the  habitual  submission  which  thciv 
constituents  were  accustomed  to  pay  to  every  agent 
of  authority,  who  came  into  immediate  contact  with 
them.  By  the  new  constitution,  the  habitants,  in 
fact,  supposed  that  they  were  commanded  by  the 
governor,  at  every  election,  to  choose  rulers  over 
themselves;  and,  having  once  chosen  them,  they 
readily  admitted  them  to  great  authority  and  influ- 
ence over  their  opinions  and  conduct.  Believing 
this  to  be  the  disposition  of  the  ignorant  peasantry 
of  Lower  Canada,  we  can  have  no  difficulty  in  sup- 
posing that  what,  in  a  free  and  intelligent  commu- 
nity, is  properly  called  Public  Opinion,  is  in  this 
province  merely  the  eflbctof  the  opinions  of  the  im- 
mediate agents  of  authority,  including  the  members 
of  the  assembly,  operating  upon  the  natural  desires 
of  a  people  attached  to  the  laws,  language,  habits, 
manners,  and  prejudices  of  their  French  ancestors. 
The  immediate  agents  of  authority,  therefore,  who 
interfere  the  least  with  those  characteristics,  will  bo 
the  most  favoured  by  them.  We  flatter  ourselves 
that  these  explanations  have  enabled  our  readers  to 
recognise  the  influence  which  predominated  at  the 


m 


';t! 


^'  a 


! 


!     * 


*ll 


I 


%^.^l 


n: 


t 


if 

4'L 


h 


1 


Ijlll   ' 


68 


THE  BUBBLES 


new  election  in  April,  1810.    The  sovereign  was  a 
Protestant  king  of  a  Protestant  nation;  tiie  governor 
was  a  Protestant,  as  was  tiic  majority  of  his  execu- 
tive council;  the  majority  of  the  legislative  council 
was  also  Protestant,  and  partly  composed  of  per- 
sons in  office,  who  received  salaries.     On  the  other 
hand,  the  members  of  the  dissolved  assembly  were 
persons  who  professed  the  llomish  religion,  who 
held  no  lucrative  office  under  the  government,  and 
who  had  been  chosen  as  friendly  to  their  civil  and 
religious   rights,  and    opposed   to   every  measure 
which  could  disturb  the  routine  of  their  hereditary 
labours  and  oijoyments.     Indolent,  particularly  in 
mind,  they  could  not  analyze  the  conduct  of  their 
representatives,  and  discriminate  the  parts  which 
belonged  to  inordinate  and  selfish  ambition,  from 
those  which  might  bo  ascribed  to  zeal  for  their  ser- 
vice.    The  old  members  were  so  confident  of  the 
effects  of  those  characteristics  of  their  constituents,, 
that  they  derided  every  doubt  of  re-election." 

These  expectations  were  justified  by  the  event. 
The  new  and  seventh  house,  assembled  on  the  12tli 
of  December,  1810,  and  the  English  minority  were 
now  reduced  to  7iitw  members,     in  the  interim.  Sir 
James  Craig,  and  the  supporters  of  his  government, 
were  continual  objects  of  obloquy  and  ridicule,  and 
reports  of  the  disapprobation  of  his  conduct,  and  of 
his  speedy  recall  and  disgrace  by  his  Majesty,  were 
fabricated,  as  a  means  of  enlisting  the  peasantry  on 
the  side  of  those  who  were  determined  systemati- 
cally to  oppose  the  King's  representative,  whenever 
he  would  not  consent  to  become  the  tool  of  their- 
ambition. 


OF  CAI7AUA. 


69 


■ii' 


The  seditious  and  revolutionary  doctrines  disse- 
minated through  "  the  Canadian,"  a  paper  devoted 
to  this  purpose,  induced  the  governor  to  seize  the 
press  and  imprison  the  conductors,  and  we  are  pro- 
bably indebted  to  this  firm  and  decided  measure,  and 
to  the  determination*  manifested  in  these  two  suc- 

*  The  nature  of  the  arts  used  by  the  demagogues  to  inflame 
the  minds,  and  alienate  the  aifections  of  the  peasantry,  will  ap- 
pear from  the  following  extracts  from  tlie  governor's  proclama- 
tion: 

"  It  is  true,  the  most  base  and  diabolical  falsehoods  are  indus- 
triously promulgated  and  disseminated.  In  one  part  it  is  an- 
nounced as  my  intention  to  imbody  and  make  soldiers  of  you, 
and  that  having  applied  to  the  late  house  of  representatives  to  en- 
able nu?  to  assemble  twelve  thousand  of  you  for  that  purpose,  and 
they  having  declined  to  do  so,  I  had  therefore  dissolved  them.  This 
is  not  only  directly  false,  such  an  idea  never  having  entered  into 
ray  mind,  nor  the  slightest  mention  having  ever  been  made  of  it; 
but  it  is  doubly  wicked  and  atrocious,  because  it  has  been  ad- 
vanced by  persons  who  must  have  been  supposed  to  speak  with  cer- 
tainty ou  the  subject,  and  was  therefore  the  more  calculated  to 
impose  upon  you.  In  another  part  you  arc  told  that  I  wanted  to 
tax  your  lands,  and  that  the  late  house  of  assembly  would  consent 
only  to  tax  wine,  and  upon  that  account,  I  had  dissolved  the  house. 
Inhabitants  of  St.  D^nis!  this  is  also  directly  false;  I  never  had 
the  most  distant  idea  of  taxing  you  at  all;  such  had  never  been 
for  a  moment  the  subject  of  my  deliberations,  and  when  the  late 
house  offered  to  pay  the  civil  list,  I  could  not  have  taken  any  step 
in  a  matter  of  such  importance  without  the  King's  instructions, 
and  therefore  it  was  still  long  before  we  came  to  the  consideration 
of  how  it  was  to  be  paid.  In  truth,  not  one  word  was  ever,  to  my 
knowledge,  mentioned  on  the  subject. 

"  In  other  parts,  despairing  of  producing  instances  from  what 
I  have  done,  recourse  is  had  to  what  I  intend  to  do,  and  it  is  bold- 
ly told  you  that  I  mean  to  oppress  you. 

"  For  what  purpose  should  I  oppress  you?  Is  it  to  serve  the 
King?  Will  that  monarch,  who  during  fifty  years  has  never  is- 
sued one  order,  that  had  you  for  its  object,  that  was  not  for  your 
benefit  and  happiness,— will  he  now,  beloved,  honoured,  adored  by 
7 


M 


I- 


:t 


» I* 


(1  ( 


It 


i'\' 


m 


I 


I 


I 


10 


THE  BUBBLES 


cessive  dissolutions  of  the  assembly  to  the  subdued 
and  altered  tone  of  their  debates.  It  is  observable 
that  in  their  reply  to  his  speech,  they  admit  the  fact 
here  contended  for,  and  which  they  have  since  so 
strenuously  denied.  "  That  harmony  and  a  good 
understanding  so  conducive  to  the  prosperity  and 
happiness  of  the  colony,  are  more  difficult  to  be 
maintained  in  this  province  than  in  any  other  of 
his  Majesty's  colonies,  from  the  diflerence  in  opi- 
nions, customs,  and  prejudices  of  his  Majesty's  sub- 
jects residing  therein."  The  prompt  check  inter- 
posed by  the  executive  to  the  violation  of  constitu- 
tional rights,  in  the  expulsion  of  the  judges*  had  the 

his  8ubjf!cts,  covered  with  glory,  descending  into  the  vale  of  years, 
accompanied  with  the  prayers  nnd  blessings  of  a  grateful  people, 
— will  he,  contrary  to  the  tenor  of  a  whole  life  of  honour  and  vir- 
tue,  now  give  orders  to  his  servants  to  oppress  his  Canadian  sub- 
jects? It  is  impossible  that  you  can  for  a  moment  believe  it.  You 
will  spnrn  from  you  with  just  indignation  the  miscreant  who  will 
suggest  such  a  thought  to  you. 

"These  personal  allusions  to  myself,  these  details,  in  any  other 
case,  might  be  unbecoming,  and  beneath  me ;  but  nothing  can  be 
unbecoming,  or  beneath  nie,  that  can  tend  to  save  you  from  the 
golf  of  crime  and  calamity  into  whicli  guilty  men  would  plunge 
you." — See  Christie^a  '  Canada.^ 

*  Nothing  can  be  more  painful  and  humiliating  than  the  situa- 
tion of  the  judges  of  Lower  Canada  since  this  period.  They  have 
been  kept  in  a  state  of  great  pecuniary  distress  by  the  house  with- 
holding their  salaries,  and  their  peace  of  mind  destroyed  by  the 
most  imfounded  attteks  on  iheir  claracler.  If  an  attorney  be  de- 
tected in  fraudulent  proceedings,  and  punished,  or  be  dissatisfied 
>»ilh  a  judgment  of  the  court,  the  judge  is  at  once  impeached 
amidst  the  plaudits  of  the  he  use.  After  preliminary  proceedings, 
and  an  opportunity  offered  of  abuse,  the  proceedings  arc  generally 
dropt  on  the  ground  that  goverimient  is  partial  and  corrupt.  By 
a  singular  fatality,  every  man  that  accuses  a  judge  finds  it  a  step 
to  preferment.    Judge  Vallicres  was  the  accuser  of  Judge  Kerr, 


OF  CANADA. 


71 


desired  effect,  and  they  now  passed  a  bill  to  dis- 
qualify them,  to  which  the  governor  assented,  as  he 
said,  "  with  peculiar  satisfaction,  not  only  because 
I  think  the  matter  right  in  itself,  but  because  I  con- 
sider passing  an  act  for  the  purpose  as  a  complete 
renunciation  of  an  erroneous  principle,  which  put 
me  under  the  necessity  of  dissolving  the  last  parlia- 
ment.'*^    Feeling  that  nothing  was  to  be  gained  from 
such  a  man  by  intimidation,  they  proceeded  to  the 
usual  business  with  more  decency  of  conduct  and 
more  despatch,  than  had  characterized  any  session 
since  the  constitutional  act  had  gone  into  operation. 
In  the  mean  time,  Sir  George  Provost  arrived  to 
take  the  command  of  the  government,  and  we  are 
indebted  to  the  determined  attitude  assumed  by  his 
predecessor,  to  the  hereditary  hatred  borne  by  the 
Canadians  to  the  Americans,  to  the  fear  they  enter- 
tained of  passing  into  the  hands  of  an  uncompro- 
mising people,  and  to  the  large  sum  expended  upon 
the  imbodied  militia,  that  they  did  not  ♦hen  avail  them- 
selves of  the  opportunity  of  throwing  off  the  depen- 
dence, which  it  has  since  been  their  unceasing  object 
to  effect.  But  thou  n;h  their  attention  was  in  some  mea- 
sure  directed  to  the  protection  of  their  prgperty  from 
the  common  enemy,  they  did  not  fail  to  convince 
impartial  men,  by  their  conduct,  that  they  were  pre- 
serving the  country  for  themselves,  and  not  for  the 
empire,  of  which  they  then  formed  a  part,  by  the  for- 
tune of  war  and  not  from  choice.     To  bring  the  go- 
on charges  sixteen  years  old.    Philip  Parrct,  a  party  and  witness 
thereto,  was  made  a  judge  in  1832.    Ebcnczer  Peck,  who  brought 
charges  against  Judge  Fleteher,  was  presented  with  a  silk  gown 
in  1832.    And  A.  Qucsnel,  the  same.    See  >  Canada  Question '  for 
more  particulars. 


i    ■ 


M,f 


."^' 


:  1:11 


vim 


M'C^ 


'crrmt 


72 


THE  BUBBLES 


vernment  of  the  country  into  contempt,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  impugn  the  integrity  of  the  bench  and  the 
impartial  administration  of  the  law,  and  they  there- 
fore impeached  the  judges;  and  when  the  governor, 
whose  liberal  patronage  had  hitherto  shielded  him 
from  attack,  declined  to  suspend  these  functiona- 
ries till  the  result  of  their  complaint  should  be  known, 
and  refused  to  make  their  punishment  precede  their 
trial,  they  resolved  "  that  his  excellency  the  go- 
vernor-in-chief, by  his  answer  to  the  address  of  the 
house,  had  violated  the  constitutional  rights  and  pri- 
vileges thereof." 

Sufficient  has  now  been  said  to  show  you  that 
the  evils  of  Canada  have  their  origin  in  the  defects 
of  the  constitutional  act,  which  by  substituting 
French  for  English  laws,  by  securing  to  them  an 
overwhelming  majority  in  the  assembly,  and  in  se- 
parating them  from  Upper  Canada,  have  had  the 
effect  of  making  them  a  French  and  not  an  English 
colony.  National  antipathies,  added  to  a  difference 
in  religion,  laws,  and  language,  have  contributed  to 
engender  and  foster  a  feeling  of  hostility  between 
the  two  races,  until  it  has  found  vent  in  open  colli- 
sion. It  would  exceed  the  limits  I  have  assigned 
to  myself  to  review  the  proceedings  of  each  sepa- 
rate house :  suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  system  of  per- 
secution, the  commencement  of  which  I  have  ex- 
hibited in  the  foregoing  pages,  was  subsequently 
pursued  with  unremitting  zeal.  Ha.ing  driven  the 
judges  from  the  house,  (though  they  failed  in  their 
impeachment,*)  they  succeeded  in  extorting  from 

*  "  The  adminislrator-in-chicf  has  received  the  commands  of  his 
Royal  Higncss  the  Prince  Regent,  to  make  known  to  the  house 


jii 


OF  CAM-ADA. 


78 


government  their  discharge  from  the  council.  They 
then  vacated  the  seats  of  executive  counsellors  by 
the  unconstitutional  mode  of  resolution,  and  finding 


f'  if  it) 


>r 


of  assembly  of  this  province  liis  pleasure,  on  the  subject  of  certain 
chargCH  preferred  by  that  Iiouhc  against  the  chief  justice  of  the 
province,  and  the  ciiief  jubticu  of  the  Court  of  King's  Bench  for 
tho  district  of  Montreal. 

"  With  respect  to  such  of  those  charges  as  relate  to  nets  done 
by  a  former  governor  of  the  province,  wiiicli  the  assembly,  as- 
suming to  bo  improper  or  illcgul,  imputud,  by  a  similar  assump- 
tion, to  advice  given  by  the  ciiicf  justice  to  that  governor,  hits 
Royal  Highness  has  deemed  tiiat  no  inquiry  could  bo  necessary, 
inasmuch  as  none  could  be  instituted  without  the  admission  of  the 
principle,  tiiat  the  governor  of  a  province  migiit,  at  his  own  dis- 
crction,  divest  himself  of  all  responsibility,  on  points  of  political 
!jovernincnt. 

"  With  a  view,  therefore,  to  the  general  interests  of  tho  province, 
Iiis  Royal  Highness  was  pleased  to  refer  for  consideration  to  the 
lords  of  the  privy  council  sueli  only  of  the  charges  brought  by 
the  assembly  as  related  to  the  rules  of  practice  established  by 
the  judges  in  their  respective  courts,  those  being  points  upon 
which,  if  any  iuipropriety  had  existed,  tlie  judges  themselves  were 
solely  responsible. 

"  By  the  annexed  copy  of  his  Royal  Highncss's  Order  in 
Council,  dated  the  2I)th  June,  1815,  tiie  administrator-in-chicf 
conveys  to  the  assetnj'y  the  result  of  this  investigation,  which  has 
been  conducted  witii  all  that  attention  and  solemnity  which  the 
importance  of  tlie  subject  required.  • 

"  In  making  this  communication  to  the  assembly,  it  now  be- 
comes the  duty  of  the  administrator-in  chief,  in  obedience  to  the 
commands  of  liis  royal  highness  the  Prince  Regent,  to  express  the 
regret  vvitli  which  his  royal  liighness  has  viewed  their  late  pro- 
eecdings  against  two  persons  wlio  have  so  long  and  so  ably  filled 
the  highest  judicial  oiHces  in  the  colony,  a  circumstance  the  more 
to  be  deplored  as  tending  to  disparage,  in  the  eyes  of  the  inconsi- 
derate and  ignorant,  their  character  and  services,  and  thus  to  di- 
minish the  influence  to  whicli,  from  their  situation  and  their  uni- 
form propriety  of  conduct,  they  arc  justly  entitled. 

7* 


::m 


■  '  I- 

f:J 

u 

"W 

i 

.'',iim£^ 

|j 

1    '^^ 

i 

^■*'^w''l 

i 

''  ■    1 

in 

§1 


m 


74 


THE  BUBBLES 


there  was  no  means  of  controlling  their  power,  pro- 
ceeded by  repeated  expulsions  to  drive  out  a  mem- 
ber, for  advice  offered  to  the  governor  in  a  ministo- 
rial  capacity ;  and  reprimanded  another  officer  for 
legal  opinions  given  to  the  executive  in  the  usual 
course  of  his  profession.  Every  thing  was  done 
that  ingenuity  could  devise,  not  only  to  weaken  the 
influence  of  government,  but  to  represent  that  in- 
fluence as  unfriendly  to  the  country  and  prejudi- 
cial to  its  interests.  Nothing,  however,  occurred 
until  the  year  1818,  to  bring  them  into  direct  colli- 
sion with  the  mother  country,  until  Sir  John  Sher- 
brookc  demanded  that  they  should  provide  for  the 
civil  expenses  of  the  province. 

"  Tlic  iiliovc  communication, embracing  such  only  of  tiic  cliargrs 
preferred  against  the  said  cliief  justices  as  relate  to  the  rules  of 
practice,  and  as  arc  grounded  on  advice  assumed  to  liavc  been 
given  by  the  chief  justice  of  the  province  to  the  late  Sir  James 
Craig,  the  administrator-in-chicf,  lias  been  further  commanded  to 
signify  to  the  assembly,  that  the  other  charges  appeared  to  his 
Majesty's  government  to  be,  witli  one  exception,  too  inconsidera- 
ble to  require  investigation,  and  that  that,  (namely  the  one 
against  the  chief  justice  of  the  court  of  King's  Bench  for  the 
district  of  Montreal,  which  states  him  to  liave  refused  a  writ  of 
Iiabcas  corpus,)  was,  in  common  with  all  the  eiiargcs  which  do 
not  relate  to  the  rules  of  practice,  totally  unsupported  by  any  cvi- 
(innce  wliatcvcr. 

(Signed)        Gordon  Drummond, 

Administratorin-Ci)ief." 


h!';ii 


OF  CANADA. 


75 


-'■11 


LETTER  VI. 


The  opportunity  had  now  arrived  that  designing 
men  had  so  craftily  sought  for,  of  fastening  a  fjuar- 
rel  upon  the  government,  of  involving  it  in  a  defence 
of  its  officers,  and  of  making  their  promised  com- 
pliance a  condition  for  obtaining  any  change  that 
might  be  ihought  conducive  to  the  great  ends  of 
weakening  British  influence.  After  discussions, 
first  on  the  gross  amount  to  be  granted,  and  then 
on  the  specific  appropriation,  had  excited  and  con- 
solidated the  party,  they  took  the  higher  ground  of 
disputing  the  right  of  the  crown  to  those  revenues 
which  were  secured  to  it  by  permanent  grants.  In 
order  that  you  may  clearly  understand  the  question, 
it  is  necessary  to  state  that  the  public  income  of 
Lower  Canada  arises  from  three  sources : — 

1st.  The  crown  duties,  levied  under  the  British  sta- 
tute of  the  14  Geo.  III.,  or  the  imperial  act  of  3 
Geo.  IV. 

2d.  Provincial  duties,  payable  in  virtue  of  local 
laws,  proceeding  immediately  from  the  provincial 
legislature,  or  rendered  permanent  without  their 
consent,  by  the  last-mentioned  imperial  act. 

3d.  The  Queen's  casual  and  territorial  revenue, 
which  arises  from  her  Majesty's  landed  property ; 
namely,  the  Jesuits'  estates,  the  Queen's  posts,  the 
forges  of  St.  Maurice,  the  Queen's  wharf,  droit  dc 
quents,  lods  and  vents,  land  fund,  and  timber  fund. 

With  respect  to  crown  duties,  levied  under  14 


.m 


n 


M-ff 


^""'1'fl 


I''. 


76 


THB  DUnOLKS 


Geo.  III.,  until  they  were  unwisely  surrendered  in 
1831,  they  were,  vvilh  the  territorial  revenue,  con- 
trolled and  dispensed  by  her  Majesty's  responsible 
servants,  while  those  levied  under  the  imperial  act 
of  3  CJeo.  IV.,  and  all  prc'incial  acts,  have  always 
been  under  the  disposal  of  the  legislature.     As  the 
crown  duties,  levied  under  the  14  Geo.  III.,  had  gc- 
nerally,  if  not  always,  been  inadequate  to  the  support 
of  the  civil  goverimiciit  and  the  administration  of 
justice.  Sir   John   Sherbrookc  was    instructed,  in 
pursuance  of  the  general  system  of  retrenchment 
adopted  throughout  the  empire,  to  call  upon  the  le- 
gislature to  appropriate,  out  of  the  provincial  duties, 
a  sum  equal  to  the  annual  deficiency.     To  this  rea- 
sonable request  tliuy  have  manifested  a  uniform  re- 
})ugnancc,  sometimes  granting  it,  always  object- 
ing,  and,  finally,   refusing   altogether.     They   al- 
leged now,  for  the  first  time,  that  the  crown  duties 
were  illegal,  inasmuch  as  the  statute  under  which 
they  were  levied  had  been  repealed.     The  reason 
of  their  making  this  objection  was,  because  the  pro- 
ceeds were  not  under  their  control,  and  their  object 
was  to  make   the  executive  dependent  upon  them 
for  its  support,  by  an  annual  vote.     The  existence 
of  this  statute  was  an  insurmountable  difiiculty,  and 
as  they  had  not  the  power  to  repeal  it,  their  only 
resource  was  to  impugn  its  legality.     The  appropri- 
ation of  the  duties  was  thus  provided  for  in  the 
Act:— 

*'  That  all  the  moneys  that  shall  arise  by  the  said 
duties,  except  the  necessary  charges  of  raising,  col- 
lecting, levying,  recovering,  answering,  paying  and 
accounting  for  the  same,  shall  be  paid  by  the  col- 
Uotnr  nf  Ki'-s  Majesty's  customs  into  the  hands  of  his 


great 


or  CAITADA. 


77 


Majesty's  rccoivcr-gencral  in  the  said  province  for 
the  time  being,  and  shall  bo  applied  in  the  first  place 
in  making  a  more  certain  and  adequate  provision  to- 
wards defraying  the  expenses  of  the  administration 
of  justice,  and  of  the  support  of  civil  government  in 
that  province ;  and  that  the  lord  higli  treasurer,  or 
commissioner  of  his  Majesty's  treasury,  or  any  three 
or  more  of  them  for  the  time  being,  shall  be,  and  is 
or  are  hereby  empowered  from  time  to  time,  by 
any  warrant  or  warrants  under  his  or  their  hand  or 
hands,  to  cause  such  money  to  be  applied  out  of  the 
said  produce  of  the  said  duties  towards  defraying 
the  said  expenses ;  and  that  the  residue  of  the  said 
duties  shall  remain  and  be  reserved  in  the  hands  of 
the  said  receiver-general  for  the  future  disposition 
of  parliament." 

The  statute  on  which  they  relied  was  the  18th 
Geo.  III.  The  history  of  that  act  of  parliament  you 
will  doubtless  recollect.  Great  Britain  had  set  up 
a  claim  to  impose  taxes,  for  the  purpose  of  general 
revenue,  upon  the  colonics  (now  forming  the  United 
States,)  which,  as  might  naturally  be  supposed,  ex- 
cited universal  opposition — causing  at  first,  popular 
tumult,  and  afterwards  open  rebellion.  Finding 
that  this  claim  could  neither  be  justified  nor  en- 
forced, it  was  expressly  renounced,  in  the  following 
words : — 

'*  Whereas  taxation  by  the  parliament  of  Great  Bri- 
tain for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in  his  Ma- 
jesty's colonies,  provinces,  and  plantations  in  North 
America,  has  been  found  by  experience  to  occasion 
great  uneasiness  and  disorders  among  his  Majesty's 
faithful  subjects,  who  may  nevertheless  be  disposed 
to  acknowledge  the  justice  of  contributing  to  the 


■'{  i 


•;i 


i 

r 


,'  f 


"i>i... 


78 


THE  BUBBLES 


common  defence  of  the  empire,  provided  such  con- 
tribution should  be  raised  under  the  authority  of  the 
general  court  or  general  assembly  of  each  respective 
colony,  province,  or  plantation;  and,  whereas,  in 
order  as  well  to  remove  the  said  uneasiness  and  to 
quiet  the  minds  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  who  may 
be  disposed  to  return  to  their  allegiance,  as  to  restore 
the  peace  and  welfare  of  all  his  Majesty's  domi- 
nions, it  is  expedient  to  declare  that  tlie  king  and 
parliament  of  Great  Britain  will  not  impose  any 
duty,  tax,  or  assessment  for  the  purpose  of  raising 
a  revenue  in  any  of  the  colonies,  provinces,  o"  plan- 
tations. 

"  That  from  and  after  the  passing  of  that  act,  the 
king  and  parliament  of  Great  Britain  would  not  im- 
pose any  duty,  tax,  or  assessment  whatever,  paya- 
ble in  any  of  his  IMajcsty's  colonics,  provinces,  and 
plantations  in  ]\orth  America,  imd  the  West  Indies, 
except  only  such  duties  as  it  might  be  expedient  to 
impose  for  the  regulation  of  commerce;  the  net  pro- 
duce of  such  duties  to  be  always  paid  and  applied 
to  and  for  the  use  of  the  colony,  province,  and  plan- 
tation in  which  the  same  shall  be  respectively  le- 
vied, in  such  manner  as  other  duties  collected  by 
the  a!  thority  of  the  respective  general  courts,  or 
general  assemblies  of  such  colonics,  provinces,  or 
plantations  aie  ordinarily  paid  and  applied." 

That  the  renunciation  of  a  right  to  impose  taxes 
hereafter  involves  a  repeal  of  those  in  existence,  is 
an  assumption  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  refute. 
Indeed,  no  person  did  the  party  the  injustice  to  be- 
lieve that  they  sincerely  thought  so  themselves,  espe- 
cially as  in  that  province  there  was  a  local  act,  35 
Geo.  III.,  c.  9,  adopting  its  phraseology,  and  recog- 


OF  CANADA. 


79 


nizing  its  validity,  by  raising  an  additional  revenue, 
for  the  farther  support  ef  tiie  government,  to  which  pur- 
pose this  act  alone  had  any  reference.    It  answered, 
however,  the  purposes  of  the  party ;  it  disorganized 
the  government,  and  prevented  English  emigrants 
from  removing  to  a  colony  in  which  evident  prepara- 
tion was  making  for  a  separation  from  the  parent 
state.  It  also  served  to  scatter  the  seeds  of  complaints, 
which  soon  germinated,  and  ripened  into  a  plentiful 
harvest.     It  is  the  fashion  in  this  country  to  call 
every  change  reform,  the  exercise  of  every  acknow- 
ledged right,  an  abuse,  and  every  salutary  restraint 
a  grievance.     In  the  colonies  we  have  long  looked 
to  Great  Britain  as  our  model,  and  we  have  import- 
ed this  fashion  from  her,  as  well  as  many  other  mo- 
dern innovations.     If  agitation  is  successful  here, 
why  may  it  not  be  so  there? — if  popular  clamour 
requires  and  obtains  concessions  at  home,  there  is 
no  good  reason  why  it  should  not  be  equally  fortu- 
nate abroad ;  if  those  who  are  the  most  clamorous, 
are  first  attended  to,  because  they  are  the  most  dis- 
tinctly heard,  why  may  not  the  colonists  learn  to 
exalt  their  voices  also,  in  hopes  of  similar  success  ? 
— as  the  old  cock  crows  so  docs  the  young.     The 
English  have  long  held  themselves  up  as  models, 
and  such  distinguished  people  must  not  be  surprised 
if  they  who  ape  their  n:anners,  occasionally  copy 
some  of  their  follies  also.     The  force  of  example  is 
too   strong  to  be   restrained   by  precept.     Tiiese 
financial  disputes  extended  over  the  whole  period 
of  the  administration  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  Lord 
Dalhousie,  and  Sir  James  Kempt,  with  more  or  less 
intensity,  according  to  the  supply  of  fresh  fuel  fur- 


iV;;i 


I     'ki 


.'.♦• 


y^tl 


\% 


m 


THE  BUBBLES 


nished  by  irritating  matter  of  an  extraneous  nature. 
Complaints  soon  multiplied  upon  complaints;  public 
meetings  were  held ;  violent  speeches  made,  valiant 
resolutions  passed ;  and,  finally,  delegates  chosen  to 
demand  a  redress  of  grievances  from  the  Impe- 
rial Parliament. 

When  the  delegates  arrived  in  this  country,  they 
found  public  opinion  with  them.     It  is  the  interest, 
as  well  as  the  duty  of  the  English  to  govern  their 
colonics  justly    and   kiiidly;   and   no  man   but   a 
Frenchman  would  affirm  that  their  inclination  re- 
quires the  incitement  of  either.     Tiieir  complaints 
were  referred  to  a  committee  composed  of  persons 
by  no   means  indisposed  towards   the  petitioners, 
who,  after  a  patient  and  laborious  investigation  of 
the  subjects  in  dispute,  made  a  rcj)orl:,  which  was 
acknowledged  by  the  assembly  to  be  both  on  able 
and  an  impartial  one,  and  quite  satisfactory.     It 
will  be  unnecessary  to  recapitulate  the  subjects  re- 
ferred, or  to  transcribe  the  report,  because  both  the 
one  and  the  other  will  be  best  understood  by  a  mi- 
nute of  Lord  Aberdeen,  to  which  I  shall  hereafter  al- 
lude more  particularly,  in  which  he  distinctly  proves 
that  the  recommendations  of  that  committee,  so  far 
as   depended   upon   the    government,   were   most 
strictly  and  fully  complied  with.     By  adopting  this 
course,  I  shall  be  able  to  spare  you  a  great  deal  of 
useless  repetition. 

The  manner  in  which  the  report  of  the  committee 
was  received  by  the  dominant  party  in  Canada,  the 
praise  bestowed  upon  its  authors,  and  the  exulta- 
tion they  expressed  at  their  success,  deceived  the 
government  as  to  the  source  of  these  noisy  demon- 
strations of  pleasure.    They  conceived  it  to  be  the 


OF  CANADA. 


81 


mitlec 
la,  the 
;xulta- 
;d  the 
emon- 
be  the 


natural  impulse  of  generous  minds  towards  those 
who  had  thus  kindly  listened  to  their  solicitations, 
and  liberally  granted  even  more  than  they  had  re- 
quired. But  they  knew  not  their  men.  It- was  the 
shout  of  victory  that  they  mistook  for  the  plaudits 
of  loyalty.  It  was  not  designed  to  greet  the  ears 
of  benefactors  with  grateful  acknowledgments,  but 
to  wound  the  feelings  of  their  neighbours  with  the 
cheers  of  triumph.  Tiiey  devoted  but  little  time  to 
mutual  congratulations.  Sterner  feelings  had  sup- 
plied the  place  of  rejoicing.  They  set  themselves 
busily  to  work  to  improve  their  advantage;  and, 
having  established  themselves  in  the  outworks 
which  were  thus  sin*rcndered  to  them,  they  now 
turned  their  attention  to  storming  the  citadel.  While 
government  was  engaged  in  carrying  into  execu- 
tion the  recommendations  of  the  committee  with  as 
much  despatch  as  the  peculiar  state  of  politics  in 
Great  Britain  at  that  time  permitted,  the  assembly 
put  themselves  in  a  posture  of  complaint  again. 
Fourteen  resolutions  were  passed,  imbodying  some 
of  the  old  and  embracing  some  new  grievances,  and 
an  agent  appointed  to  advocate  their  claims. 

While  representations  in  the  name  of  the  whole 
population  were  thus  sent  to  England,  expressing 
only  the  sentiment  of  one  portion  of  the  people,  the 
settlers  of  British  origin  were  loud  in  their  com- 
plaints that  they  were  unrepresented,  and  that 
they  had  no  constitutional  means  of  being  heard. 
Fearing  that  this  remonstrance,  which  was  so  well 
founded,  might  be  redressed  in  the  same  quarter  to 
which  they  had  applied  so  successfully  for  relief 
themselves,  the  assembly  affected  to  listen  to  their 
petitions,  and  made  a  new  electoral  division  of  the 


^1 


82 


THE  BUBBLES 


province.  Ter 
sons  of  French 
small  counties; 
those  of  British 
by  joining  that 
rous  in  French 
were  rendered 
thus : 


ritories  inhabited  principally  by  pcr- 
origin,  they  divided  into  numerous 
while  others,  where  a  large  body  of 
origin  resided,  thev  so  divided  that, 
territory  with  another  more  nume- 
inhabitants,  the  votes  of  the  British 
ineffectual.     The  proportion  stood 


Say  3-2  counties,  returning  two  members  each, 
by  French  ninjorities 
2  Ditto  •  -  ditto,  one  ench  (say  Montmo- 

renci  and  Uruniinnnil)     - 
1  Engtish majority.  Marantic 
;j  Ditto    -    -    -    -     Slierbrooke, 

Stanstcad,   Missisquoi,  Ottawa,    anil 
SlK'fford,  2  each     .... 


Total  ■  40  Counties. 


Two  cities,  French  majority,  Quebec  and  Mon- 
treal, 4  each   -        ■        -    "    • 

Two  towns  •  ditto  •  Throe  Kivcts,  2;  and 
VViDiain  Flenry,  i  -       -  .       -       . 


British. 

Foreign. 

• 

04 

1 

.1 

10 

— 

- 

'A 

11 

•l 

Total,  88  Members. 

Of  the  extreme  partiality  of  this  division  there 
never  has  been  but  one  opinion  in  the  colonies,  until 
they  were  so  fortunate  as  to  be  favoured  with  the 
distinction  drawn  by  the  commif^sioners,  who  ad- 
mitted that  its  operation  was  a  practical  exclusion, 
but  exonerated  the  bill  from  a  charge  of  unfair- 
ness— an  instance  of  even-handed  justice  (deciding 
in  favour  of  both  parties)  which  ought  to  have  won 
them  the  praise  of  all  men.  In  addition  to  this  ex- 
clusion, so  extraordinarily  designated  as  unjust  but 
n©t  unfair,  they  established  the  quorum  of  the 
house  for  the  transaction  of  business  at  forty,  being 
only  four  less  than   a  moiety  of  the  whole  body. 


i 


OF  CAXADA. 


83 


! 


The  large  number  thus  required  to  be  present  to 
oonstilutc  a  house  still  farther  depressed  the  in- 
tluencc  of  the  minority,  and  enabled  the  majority 
to  deprive  them  of  their  parliamentary  privileges  at 
pleasure,  by  rendering  the  transaction  of  business 
iinpossible,  except  when  it  suited  the  convenience 
of  the  stronger  party  to  allow  it. 

Having  disposed  of  the  complaints  of  the  Briti^ '? 
fettlcrs  in  a  way  to  prevent  them  from  being  trou- 
blesome in  the  house,  they  returned  to  the  consi- 
deration of  their  own  grievances;  and,  that  the  mo- 
tives actuating  the  party  might  not  be  disclosed, 
and  to  prevent  any  member  of  the  opposition  from 
being  present  at  their  deliberations,  they  adopted 
the  extraordinary  mode  of  permitting  a  person 
moving  for  a  committee  to  name  all  the  individuals 
whom  he  desired  to  be  appointed  as  members. 
They  also  resolved  that,  if  the  legislative  council 
did  not  concur  in  a  bill  ^or  paying  their  emissary  to 
England,  they  would,  in  the  plenitude  of  their  power, 
pay  him  themselves  out  of  the  public  revenue  with- 
out their  concurrence.  This  singular  assumption 
stands  recorded  thus : 

"  Monday,  28th  March,  1831.— llesolved,  that  in 
the  present  state  of  the  public  ailairs  of  this  pro- 
vmce,  it  is  indispensably  necessary  that  some  per- 
son, having  the  confidence  of  this  house,  should 
proceed  forthwith  to  England,  to  represent  to  his 
Majesty's  government  the  interests  and  sentiments 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  province,  and  support  the 
petitions  of  this  house  to  his  Majesty  and  both 
Houses  of  Parliament 

"  Resolved, — That  in  the  event  of  the  bill  sent  up 
hv  this  house  to  the  lesrislativc  council,  on  the  5th 


it^'  «ii 


1  i 

¥ 

I 

^n 

!    ;•  t 


Si 


1:11 


''mi. 


i'  ■m 


81 


THK  DUDBLES 


.M 


instant,  not  receiving  the  concurrence  of  that  house 
in  the  present  session,  the  Honourable  Denis  B. 
Viger,  Esq.,  member  of  the  legislative  council, 
named  agent  of  the  province  in  the  said  bill,  be  re- 
quested to  proceed  to  England  without  delay,  for 
the  purposes  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  resolution. 

"  Resolved, — That  it  is  expedient  that  the  neces- 
sary and  unavoidable  disbursements  of  the  said  Denis 
Benjamin  Viger,  for  efTecting  the  purposes  aforesaid, 
not  exceeding  .i[?l,O0O,  be  advanced, and  paid  to  him 
by  the  clerk  of  this  house,  out  of  the  contingent  fund 
thereof,  till  such  time  as  the  said  disbursements  can 
be  otherwise  provided  for." 

And,  to  show  their  contempt  of  that  co-ordinate 
branch  of  the  legislature,  and  their  determination  to 
legislate  for  the  colony  without  their  concurrence, 
and  by  their  sole  authority,  as  well  as  to  stigmatize 
tiie  officers  of  the  government  as  enemies  of  the 
country,  they  farther  resolved — 

•'  That  until  such  time  as  the  royal  assent  shall  be 
given  to  a  bill  conformable  to  a  resolution  of  this 
house  of  the  17th  March,  1825,  for  vacating  the 
seats  of  members  accepting  offices,  and  similar  to  the 
bills  passed  by  this  house  in  tiie  years  182G,  1827, 
1828,  and  1830,  the  second  and  foin'th  of  which  were 
reserved  for  the  signification  of  his  Majesty's  plea- 
sure, the  seat  of  any  member  of  this  house  who  shall 
accept  of  any  office  or  place  of  j)rofit  under  the  crown 
in  thJs  province,  or  become  accountable  for  any  pul>- 
lic  moiiey  hereafter  appropriated  within  this  pro- 
vince, shall,  by  this  ucceptance,  be  deemed  by  this 
house  10  be  vacant,  and  a  new  writ  shall  be  issued 
for  a  new  election,  as  if  such  person  so  accepting  was 


or  CAWADA. 


■85 


naturally  dead;  nevertheless  such  person  shall  be  ca- 
pable of  being  again  re-elected,  and  of  sitting  and 
voting  in  this  house,  as  if  his  seat  had  not  been  va- 
cated as  aforesaid. 

"  Resolved, — That  any  member  of  this  house  sit- 
ting and  voting  therein  after  such  acceptance,  be  ex- 
pelled this  house," 

At  the  same  time,  while  they  refused  to  govern- 
ment the  means  of  paying  its  officers,  they  were 
most  prodigal  of  the  public  money  upon  themselves 
and  their  dependants.  There  arc  certain  funds  ap- 
propriated for  the  contingent  expenses  of  the  house; 
and,  legally,  neither  the  house  nor  any  of  its  officers 
have  any  right  to  apply  them  to  any  other  purposes. 
It  is  a  trust  fund,  on  the  expenditure  of  which  doubt- 
less a  certain  degree  of  discretion  may  be  exercised, 
but  still  a  discretion  having  certain  limits.  It  is 
(juite  manifest  that  if  the  house  could  legally  apply 
this  fund  to  other  objects  than  those  for  which  it  was 
sjiecifically  appropriated,  tiiey  would,  for  all  the  pur- 
poses of  such  application,  exercise  sole  legislative 
power,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other  two  branches  of 
the  legislature.  The  case  of  Mr.  Vigor,  above  re- 
ferred to,  is  a  flagrant  violation  of  this  principle. 
The  expenses  for  printing  alone  during  this  year 
(1831)  for  the  assembly,  at  one  only  of  its  favourite 
establishments,  was  considerably  over  £5,000,  ex- 
clusive of  other  presses;  and  this  enormous  sum  is 
also  exclusive  of  the  cost  of  printing  the  laws,  or  of 
the  expenses  of  the  council.  Pretexts  were  not 
wanted,  where  the  disposition  existed,  to  provide  for 
their  dependants.  A  supoena  was  all  that  was  ne- 
cessary to  obtain  a  warrant  for  a  gratuity,  which,  to 

8« 


• 


\1  ■     ' 


X' 


'!i   i 


J    ! 


Ul  ! 


rvu 


^■rm 


8h. 


THE  BUBBLES 


one  individual,  covered  a  charge  of  j£l20,and  on  one 
petition  amounted  to  ^6700.  "Some  witnesses," 
says  a  gentleman  of  the  bar  at  Quebec,  "  one  sees  as 
regularly  about  a  fortnight  after  the  sessions  as  swal- 
lows in  the  spring:  and  although  they  do  not  last 
quite  so  long,  yet  they  hardly  leave  Quebec  before 
either  the  house  or  the  roads  break  up." 

It  will  hardly  be  credited,  that  this  house,  which 
is  so  clamorous  for  cheap  government,  expends  on 
itself  thirteen  thousand  pounds  a  year — one  thou- 
sand of  which  is  paid  to  Mr.  Papincau,  the  patriot; 
and  that  the  gross  amount  of  the  legislative  expenses 
is  ^18,000.  Some  idea  of  the  purity  "  of  our  en- 
slaved and  oppressed  brethren  "  may  be  formed  from 
the  fact  that,  previous  to  1829,  the  amount  of  mo- 
neys voted  for  education  had  not  exceeded  £3,500. 
At  ihA  period  it  was  found  it  could  be  turned  to  a 
better  account  than  education,  they  therefore  consti- 
tuted the  members  of  the  house  visiters  of  the  schools 
in  the  counties  they  represent,  the  money  being 
drawn  on  their  certificates  only,  to  which  by  law 
they  are  privilesred  to  affix  their  crosses,  instead  of 
the  more  difficult  process  of  writing  their  names. 
Since  then  the  grants  have  wonderfully  increased. 


In  1830 
1831 
1832 
1833 


4ii 

^27,840 
25,261 
29,233 
22,500 


When  the  fourteen  resolutions  above  referred  to 
were  passed,  the  governor,  who  had  recently  arrived, 


',.   fl'l 


OF  CANADA. 


87 


to 


f 


could  not  but  feel  astonished  that  the  same  people 
who  had  so  lately  expressed  their  delight  and  satis- 
faction at  the  report  of  the  proceedings  of  parliament, 
and  who  knew  that  the  recommendations  of  the 
committee  were  in  a  train  of  execution,  should  he 
again  as  clamorous  as  ever,  and  very  prudently  and 
properly  entreated  them  to  put  an  end  to  the  com- 
plaint, by  bringing  forward  at  once  every  grievance 
they  had,  that  it  might  be  met  and  redressed  at  the 
same  time.     The  earnest  manner  in  which  this  is 
pressed  upon  them  is  worthy  of  notice.    What  were 
the  sources  of  his  lordsliip's  satisfaction,  which  he 
twice  expresses  in    this   answer,  I  am  utterly  at  a 
loss  to  imagine,  unless  we  may  conjecture  it  to  have 
arisen  from  the  consciousness  of  possessing  a  phi- 
losophy which  enabled  him  to  subdue  and  control 
his  indignation  at  the  insatiable  demands  and  gross 
ingratitude  of  those  whom  it  was  his  duty  to  ad- 
dress. 

"  I  can  assure  you,"  he  said,  "  gentlemen,  that  I 
have  derived  satisfaction  from  listening  to  the  peti- 
tion which  has  just  been  read  by  Mr.  Speaker,  be- 
cause the  subject-matter  of  it  is  distinct  and  tangible, 
and  because  I  feel  assured  that  of  the  causes  of  com- 
plaint therein  set  forth,  many  will  be  eventually  re- 
moved, and  others  modified;  in  the  mean  while  it  is 
very  agreeable  to  me  to  have  it  in  my  power  to  state 
that  some  of  those  causes  of  complaint  have  been  al- 
ready put  by  me  in  a  train  of  amelioration  at  least, 
if  not  of  removal  altogether;  and  I  beg  the  house  of 
assembly  to  believe  that  my  efforts  shall  be  unremit- 
ting in  pursuing  the  same  course  to  the  utmost  ex- 
tent of  ray  authority  as  the  King's  representative. 


^■1  f 


III- 


't(i 


> 


I  i'l 


ir  n 


.'';:•! 


R  . 


m 


.  i; 


S8 


THE  BUDDLES 


Thus  far  I  can,  with  a  safe  conscience,  declare,  thai 
the  present  communication  is  satisfactory  to  me;  but 
I  cannot  conceal  from  the  house,  that  it  vouhl  have 
been  infinitely  more  so,  could  I  feel  assured  that  the 
whole  matter  of  their  complaints  is  comprised  in  this 
petition.  Gentlemen,  I  must  go  a  step  farther  than 
this,  and  confess  to  you,  that  I  cannot  divest  my 
mind  of  anxiety  on  this  subject;  it  is  with  the  view 
of  being  relieved  from  this  state  of  anxiety  that  I 
now  come  forward  to  entreat  you  will  admit  me  to 
your  confidence,  and  acquaint  me  whether  I  am  to 
expect  any,  and  what  farther,  communications  on  the 
subject  of  complaints  and  grievances. 

"  I  think  I  have  even  a  claim  upon  you  for  the 
confidence  I  now  solicit.  The  propositions  whicli 
upon  a  recent  occasion  I  was  commanded  by  the 
King  to  make  to  you  on  the  subject  of  finance,  were 
laid  before  you  in  the  plainest  and  most  straightfor- 
ward manner — nothing  was  concealed — nothing  was 
glossed  over;  and  I  even  believe  that  T  should  have 
been  justified  had  I  made  those  propositions  more 
palatable  to  you  than  I  have  done;  but  I  considered 
that  any  thing  which  could  bear,  even  for  a  moment, 
I  he  appearance  of  trick  or  manojuvre  on  so  grave  an 
occasion,  was  unworthy  of  his  Majesty's  government, 
and  an  injustice  to  the  rank  and  loyal  character  of 
the  Canadian  people.  What  I  now  ask  in  return  for 
this  fair  dealing,  is  a  corresponding  proceeding  on 
the  part  of  the  house  of  assembly.  Am  I  to  under- 
stand, that  the  petition  which  I  have  just  heard  read 
conveys  all  that  the  house  of  assembly  have  to  com- 
plain of  up  to  this  day?  Or  am  I  to  understand 
that  there  remains  something  behind — some   un- 


OF  CANADA. 


8» 


ripe  grievance  or  complaint  which  it  may  be  in- 
tended to  bring  forward  hereafter,  when  those  now 
produced  shall  have  been  disposed  of?  This  is  the 
information  I  ask  of  you.  This,  gentleman,  is  t!ie 
information  which  I  will  even  implore  you  to  afford 
me,  in  the  name  of  the  King,  our  sovereign,  who  is 
sincerity  itself,  and  in  the  name  of  the  brave  and 
honest  people  of  Canada,  wlio  arc  so  well  entitled  to 
expect  fair  dealing  in  every  quarter:  and  now,  if 
there  be  any  stray  complaint,  any  <  icvance,  how- 
ever inconsiderable  in  itself,  whici  .lay  have  been 
overlooked  when  this  petition  was  adopted  by  this 
house,  I  beseech  you,  gentlemen,  to  take  it  back 
again,  in  order  that  the  deficiency  may  be  supplied, 
and  that  thus  both  king  and  people  may  be  enabled 
at  one  view  to  see  the  whole  extent  of  what  you 
comjjlain  of,  and  what  you  require. 

"  Whether  this  appeal  to  your  candour  shall 
draw  from  you  any  farther  declaration,  stating  that 
your  petition  contains  the  whole  matter  of  your 
complaints  and  grievances,  or  that  you  shall  main- 
tain silence,  I  shall  equally  consider  that  I  have  ac- 
quired a  full  and  distinct  knowledge  of  the  whole 
of  your  complaints  and  grievances  up  to  the  present 
period;  and  your  petition  will  be  accompanied  by 
an  assurance  from  me  to  that  effect,  and  my  most 
fervent  wishes  that  it  may  be  productive  of  such 
measures  as  shall  restore  perfect  harmony  to  this  fa- 
voured land,  where  I  firmly  believe  a  larger  share 
of  happiness  and  prosperity  is  to  be  found  than 
amongst  any  people  in  the  universe. 

*«  Castle  of  St.  Louis,  Quebec, 
23d  March,  1831." 


•  I,'   '    ! 


Hi  I 


i'1 


^'  .  ' 


I 


i'i  t ; 


...  It 


HM^. 


I',! 


I'l^ 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporalion 


33  WIST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  UStO 

(716)  •72-4303 


^\ 


m 


o 


4^ 


^ 

^ 


1)0 


THB  OUBBLKS 


Having  given  Ihem  this  gracious  reception,  his 
lordship  communicated  these  resolutions  to  the  se- 
cretary for  the  colonies;  to  whose  answer,  as  it  enu- 
merates the  complaints  for  the  purpose  of  giving  to 
each  a  distinct  and  separate  answer,  I  refer  you  for 
the  particulars  as  well  of  the  resolutions  as  of  the  re- 
medies. 

"  The  King  has  been  graciously  pleased  to  express 
his  approbation  of  the  efforis  made  by  your  lordship 
to  ascertain,  with  precision,  the  full  extent  of  the 
grievances  of  which  the  assembly  consider  them- 
selves entitled  to  complain;  and  assuming,  in  con- 
currence with  your  lordship,  that  the  address  of  the 
assembly  contains  a  full  development  of  those 
grievances,  the  exposition  which  is  to  be  found  there 
of  the  views  of  that  body,  justifies  the  satisfactory 
inference  that  there  remains  scarcely  any  question 
upon  which  the  wishes  of  that  branch  of  the  legisla- 
ture are  at  variance  with  the  policy  which  his  Ma- 
jesty has  been  advised  to  pursue;  and  I,  therefore, 
gladly  anticipate  the  speedy  and  effectual  termina- 
tion of  those  differences,  which  have  heretofore  so 
much  embarras«!ed  the  operations  of  the  local  govern- 
ment. 

"  No  office  can  be  more  grateful  to  the  King  than 
that  of  yielding  to  the  reasonable  desires  of  the  rep- 
resentative body  of  Lower  Canada;  and  whilst  his 
Majesty's  servants  have  the  satisfaction  of  feeling, 
that  upon  some  of  the  most  important  topics  referred 
to  in  the  address  of  the  assembly,  its  w^ishes  have 
been  anticipated,  they  trust  that  the  instructions 
which  I  am  now  about  to  convey  to  you,  will  still 
farther  evince  their  earnest  desire  to  combine  with 


OF  CANADA. 


9L 


i^. 


% 


than 
rep- 

his 

ling, 

erred 

have 

tions 

still 
with 


-/■'■ 
\'^' 


^ 


the  due  and  lawful  exercise  of  tHe  constitutional  au- 
thority of  the  crown,  an  anxious  solicitude  for  the 
well-being  of  all  classes  of  his  faithful  subjects  in  the 
province. 

"  I  proceed  to  notice  the  various  topics  embraced 
in  the  address  of  the  assembly  to  the  King.  I  shall 
observe  the  order  which  they  have  followed;  and, 
with  a  view  to  perspicuity,  I  shall  preface  each  suc- 
cessive instruction,  which  I  have  his  Majesty's  com- 
mands to  convey  to  your  lordship,  by  the  quotation 
of  the  statements  made  upon  the  same  topic  by  the 
Assembly  themselves. 

"  First,  it  is  represented  that  the  progress  which 
has  been  made  in  the  education  of  the  people  of  the 
province,  under  the  encouragement  afforded  by,the 
recent  acts  of  the  legislature,  has  been  greatly  im- 
peded by  the  diversion  of  the  revenues  of  the  Je- 
suits' estates,  originally  destined  for  this  purpose. 

"  His  Majesty's  government  do  not  deny  that  the 
Jesuits'  estates  were,  on  the  dissolution  of  that  order, 
appropriated  to  the  education  of  the  people;  and  I 
readily  admit,  that  the  revenue  which  may  result 
from  that  propert)'-,  should  be  regarded  as  inviolably 
and  exclusively  applicable  to  that  object. 

"  It  is  to  be  regretted,  undoubtedly,  that  any  part 
of  those  funds  were  ever  applied  to  any  other  pur- 
pose; but  although,  in  former  times,  your  lordship's 
predecessors  may  have  had  to  contend  with  difficul- 
ties which  caused  and  excused  that  mode  of  appro- 
priation, I  do  not  feel  myself  now  called  upon  to 
enter  iiito  any  consideration  of  that  part  of  the  sub- 
ject 

"  If,  however,  I  may  rely  on  the  returns  which 


92 


THB  BUBBLES 


lii 


have  been  made  to  this  department,  the  rents  of  the 
Jesuits'  estates  have,  during  the  few  last  years,  been 
devoted  exclusively  to  the  purposes  of  education, 
and  my  despatch,  dated  24th  December  last,  marked 
'separate,'  sufficiently  indicates  that  his  Majesty's 
ministers  had  resolved  upon  a  strict  adherence  to 
that  principle  several  months  before  the  present  ad- 
dress was  adopted. 

"  The  only  practical  question  which  remains  for 
consideration  is,  whether  the  application  of  these 
funds  for  the  purpose  of  education  should  be  directed 
by  his  Majesty  or  by  the  provincial  legislature. 
The  King  cheerfully  and  without  reserve  confides 
that  duty  to  the  legislature,  in  the  full  persuasion 
that  they  will  make  such  a  selection  amongst  the 
different  plans  which  may  be  presented  to  their  no- 
tice, as  may  most  effectually  advance  the  interests  of 
religion  and  sound  learning  amongst  his  subjects; 
and  I  cannot  doubt  that  the  assembly  will  see  the 
justice  of  continuing  to  maintain,  under  the  new  dis- 
tributions of  these  funds,  those  scholastic  establish- 
ments to  which  they  are  now  applied. 

"I  understand  that  certain  buildings  on  the  Je- 
suits' estates  which  were  formerly  used  for  collegiate 
purposes,  have  since  been  uniformly  employed  as  a 
barrack  for  the  King's  troops.  It  would  obviously 
be  highly  inconvenient  to  attempt  any  immediate 
change  in  this  respect,  and  I  am  convinced  that  the 
assembly  would  regret  any  measure  which  might  di- 
minish the  comforts  or  endanger  the  health  of  the 
King's  forces.  If,  however,  the  assembly  should  be 
disposed  to  provide  adequate  barracks  so  as  perma- 
nently to  secure  those  important  objects,  his  Majes- 


OF  CANADA. 


93 


ajes- 


ty  will  be  prepared  (upon  the  completion  of  such  an 
arrangement  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  your  lord- 
ship) to  acquiesce  in  the  appropriation  of  the  build- 
ings in  question  to  the  same  purposes  as  those  to 
which  the  general  funds  of  the  Jesuits'  estates  are 
now  about  to  be  restored. 

"  I  should  fear  that  ill-founded  expectations  may 
have  been  indulged  respecting  the  value  and  pro- 
ductiveness of  these  estates;  in  this,  as  in  most  other 
cases,  concealment  appears  to  have  been  followed  by 
exaggeration,  as  its  natural  consequence.     Had  the 
application  of  the  assembly  for  an  account  of  the 
proceeds  of  these  estates  been  granted,  much  misap- 
prehension   would   probably   have  been   dispelled. 
My  regret  for  the  effect  of  your  decisioh  to  with- 
hold these  accounts,  does  not,  however,  render  me 
insensible  to  the  propriety  and  apparent  weight  of 
the  motives  by  which  your  judgment  was  guided. 
Disavowing,  however,  every  wish  for  concealment, 
I  am  to  instruct  your  lordship  to  lay  these  accounts 
before  the  assembly  in  the  most  complete  detail,  at 
the  commencement  of  their  next  session,  and  to  sup- 
ply the  house  with  any  farther  explanatory  state- 
ments which  they  may  require  respecting  them. 

"  It  appearing  that  the  sum  of  ^67,154.  15s.  42^- 
has  been  recovered  from  the  property  of  the  late 
Mr.  Caldwell,  in  respect  to  the  claims  of  the  crown 
against  him  on  account  of  the  Jesuits*  estates,  your 
lordship  will  cause  that  sum  to  be  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  legislature  for  general  purposes.  The 
suna  of  £1,200.  3s.  4d.,  which  was  also  recovered 
on  account  of  the  same  property,  must  also  be  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  the  legislature,  but  should,  with 


!  ;i 


v,\l 


94 


THE  BUBBLUS 


reference  to  the  principles  already  noticed,  be  con- 
sidered as  applicable  to  the  purposes  of  education 
exclusively. 

"  Secondly. — The  house  of  assembly  represent 
that  the  progress  of  education  has  been  impeded  by 
the  withholding  grants  of  land  promised  for  schools 
in  the  year  1801. 

"On  reference  to  the  speech  delivered  in  that 
year  by  the  then  governor  to  the  two  houses  of 
provincial  legislature,  I  find  that  such  an  engage- 
ment as  the  address  refers  to  was  actually  made;  it 
of  course  therefore  is  binding  on  the  crown,  and 
must  now  be  carried  into  effect,  unless  there  be  any 
circumstances  of  which  I  am  not  apprized,  which 
may  have  cancelled  the  obligation  contracted  in 
1801,  or  which  may  have  rendered  the  fulfilment 
of  it  at  the  present  time  impracticable.  If  any  such 
circumstances  really  exist,  your  lordship  will  report 
them  to  me  immediately,  in  order  that  the  fit  course 
to  be  taken  may  be  farther  considered. 

"Thirdly. — The  rejection  by  the  legislative  coun- 
cil of  various  bills  in  favour  of  education  is  noticed 
as  the  last  of  the  impediments  to  the  progress  of 
education. 

"  Upon  this  subject  it  is  obvious  that  his  Majesty's 
government  have  no  power  of  exercising  any  con- 
trol, and  that  they  could  not  interfere  with  the  free 
exercise  of  the  discretion  of  the  legislative  council, 
tvithout  the  violation  of  the  most  undoubted  maxims 
of  the  constitution.  How  far  that  body  may  have 
actually  counteracted  the  wishes  of  the  assembly 
on  this  subject  I  am  not  very  exactly  informed,  nor 
would  it  become  me  to  express  an  opinion  on  the 


OF  CANADA. 


05 


wisdom  or  propriety  of  any  decision  which  they 
may  have  formed  of  that  nature.  The  assembly 
»nay,  however,  be  assured,  that  whatever  legitimate 
influence  his  Majesty's  government  can  exercise, 
will  always  be  employed  to  promote  in  every  direc- 
tion all  measures  which  have  for  their  object  the 
religious,  moral,  or  literary  instruction  of  the  people 
of  Lower  Canada. 

"  Fourthly. — The  address  proceeds  to  state,  that 
the  management  of  the  waste  lands  of  the  crown 
has  been  vicious  and  improvident,  and  still  impedes 
the  settlement  of  those  lands. 

*'  This  subject  has  engaged,  and  still  occupies, 
my  most  anxious  attention,  and  I  propose  to  address 
your  lordship  upon  it  at  length  in  a  separate  despatch. 
The  considerations  connected  with  the  settlement 
of  waste  lands  arc  too  numerous  and  extensive  to 
be  conveniently  imbodied  in  a  despatch  embracing 
so  many  other  subjects  of  discussion. 

"  Fifthly. — The  exercise  by  parliament  of  its 
power  of  regulating  the  trade  of  the  province,  is 
said  to  have  occasioned  injurious  uncertainty  in 
mercantile  speculations,  and  prejudicial  fluctua- 
tions in  the  value  of  real  estate,  and  of  the  different 
branches  of  industry  connected  with  trade. 

"  It  is  gratifying  to  find  that  this  complaint  is 
connected  with  a  frank  acknowledgment  that  the 
power  in  question  has  been  beneficially  exercised 
on  several  occasions  for  the  prosperity  of  Lower 
Canada.  It  is,  I  fear,  an  unavoidable  consequence 
of  the  connexion  which  happily  subsists  between 
the  two  countries,  that  Parliament  should  occasion- 
ally require  of  the  commercial  body  of  Lower  Ca- 


m 


ir 


v 


96 


THE  BUBBLES 


nada,  some  mutual  sacrifices  for  the  general  good 
of  the  empire  at  large:  I  therefore  shall  not  attempt 
to  deny,  that  the  changes  in  the  commercial  policy 
in  this  kingdom  during  the  last  few  years  may  have 
been  productive  of  occasional  inconvenience  and 
loss  to  that  body,  since  scarcely  any  particular  in- 
terest can  be  mentioned  in  Great  Britain  of  which 
some  sacrifice  has  not  been  required  during  the 
same  period.     The  most  which  can  be  effected  by 
legislation  on  such  a  subject  as  this,  is  a  steady 
though  gradual  advance  towards  tiiose  great  objects 
which  an  enlightened  regulation  contemplates.    The 
relaxation  of  restrictions  on  the  trade  of  the  British 
Colonies,  and  the  development  of  their  resources, 
have  been  kept  steadfastly  in  view  amidst  all  the 
alterations  to  which  the  address  refers,  and  I  con- 
fidently rely  on  the  candour  of  the  house  of  assembly, 
to  admit  that,  upon  the  whole,  no  inconsiderable 
advance  towards  those  great  ends  has  been  made. 
They  may  rest  assured,  that  the  same  principles 
will  be  steadily  borne  in  mind  by  his  Majesty 's  govern- 
ment, in  every  modification  of  the  existing  law  which 
they  may  at.  any  future  period  have  occasion  to  re- 
commend to  parliament. 

'*  Sixthly. — The  assembly  in  their  address  pro- 
ceed to  state  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  different 
towns,  parishes,  townships,  extraparochial  places 
and  counties  of  the  province,  suffer  from  the  want 
of  sufficient  legal  powers  for  regulating  and  ma- 
naging their  local  concerns. 

"  1  am  happy  in  the  opportunity  which  at  present 
presents  itself,  of  demonstrating  the  desire  of  his 
Majesty's  government  to  co-operate  with  the  local 
legislature  in  the  redress  of  every  grievance  of  this 


OF  CANADA. 


07 


The  three  bills  whicli 


nature.  The  three  bills  which  your  lordship  re- 
served  for  the  signification  of  his  Majesty's  plea- 
sure in  the  last  session  of  the  assembly,  establishing 
the  parochial  divisions  of  the  province,  and  for  the 
incorporation  of  the  cities  of  Quebec  and  Montreal, 
will  be  confirmed  and  finally  enacted  by  his  Majesty 
in  council,  with  the  least  possible  delay,  and  I  ex- 
pect to  be  able  very  shortly  to  transmit  to  your 
lordship  the  necessary  orders  in  council  for  that 
purpose. 

"  I  very  sincerely  regret  that  the  bill  passed  for 
the  legal  establishment  of  parishes  in  the  month  of 
March,  1829,  should  have  been  defeated  by  the  de- 
lay which  occurred  in  transmitting  the  official  con- 
firmation of  it  to  the  province.  The  case  appears 
U)  have  been,  that  owing  to  the  necessity,  whether 
real  or  supposed,  of  laying  the  act  before  both 
houses  of  parliament  for  six  weeks  before  its  con- 
firmation by  the  King  in  Council,  many  months 
elapsed  after  its  arrival  in  this  kingdom  before  that 
form  could  be  observed,  and  his  late  Majesty's  pro- 
tracted illness  delayed  still  longer  the  bringing  it 
under  the  consideration  of  the  King  in  Council. 

"If  it  should  be  the  opinion  of  the  Colonial  legis- 
lature that  additional  provisions  are  wanting  to  ena- 
ble the  local  authorities  in  counties,  cities,  or  pa- 
rishes, to  regulate  their  own  more  immediate  af- 
fairs, your  lordship  will  understand,  that  you  are  at 
liberty,  in  his  Majesty's  name,  to  assent  to  any  well- 
considered  laws  which  may  be  presented  to  you  for 
iliat  purpose. 

'•  Seventhly. — I  proceed  to  the  next  subject  of 
complaint,  which  is,  that  uncertainty  and  confusion 

9* 


',   '■* 


US 


THE  DUDItLES 


« 


I 


has  been  introduced  into  ttie  laws  for  the  security 
and  regulation  of  property,  by  the  intermixture  of 
different  codes  of  laws  and  rules  of  proceeding  in 
the  courts  of  justice. 

"  The  intermixture  to  which  the  address  refers, 
so  far  as  I  am  aware,  arises  from  the  English  crimi- 
nal code  having  been  maintained  by  the  British  sta- 
tute of  1774,  and  from  the  various  acts  of  parliament 
which  have  introduced  into  the  province  the  soccage 
tenure,  and  subjected  all  lands  so  holden  to  the  Eng- 
lish rules  of  alienation  and  descent. 

"  As  a  mere  matter  of  fact,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  infusion  of  these  parts  of  the  law  of  Eng- 
land into  the  provincial  code,  was  dictated  by  the 
most  sincere  wish  to  promote  the  general  welfare 
of  the  people  of  Lower  Canada;  this  was  especially 
the  case  with  regard   to  the  criminal  law,  as  is 
sufficiently  apparent  from  the  language  of  the  11th 
section  of  the  14  Geo.  III.,  c.  83.     With  regard  to 
the  advantage  to  be  anticipated  from  the  substitu- 
tion of  tenure  in  soccage  for  feudal  services,  I  may 
remark,  that  Parliament  could  scarcely  be  other- 
wise than  sincerely  convinced  of  the  benefits  of  that 
measure,  since  the  maxims  upon  which  they  pro- 
ceeded are  in  accordance  with  the  conclusion  of 
almost  all  theoretical  writers  and  practical  states- 
men.    J  am  not,  indeed,  anxious  to  show  that  these 
were  just,  but  I  think  it  not  immaterial  thus  to  have 
pointed  out  that  the  errors,  if  any,  which  they  in- 
volve, can  be  attributed  only  to  a  sincere  zeal  for 
the  good  of  those  whom  the  enactments  in  question 
more  immediately  affect. 

"  I  fully  admit,  however,  that  this  is  a  subject  of 
local  and  internal  policy,  upon  which  far  greater 


or  CANADA. 


00 


^vcigl)t  is  duo  to  tho  doliborato  judgment  of  onligiit- 
ened  men  in  tho  province  than  to  any  external  au- 
thority whatever.    Your  lordship  will  announce  to 
the  council  and  assembly,  his  Majesty's  entire  dis-* 
position  to  concur  with  them  in  any  measures  which 
they  may  think  best  adapted  for  ensuring  a  calm  and 
comprehensive  survey  of  these  subjects  in  all  their 
bearings.     It  will  then  remain  with  the  two  houses 
to  frame  such  laws  as  may  be  necessary  to  render 
the  provincial  code  more  uniform,  and  belter  adapted 
to  the  actual  condition  of  society  in  Canada.    To 
any  laws  prepared  for  that  most  important  purpose, 
and  calculated  to  advance  it,  his  Majesty's  assent 
will  be  given  with  the  utmost  satisfaction.     It  is 
possible  liiat  a  work  of  this  nature  would  be  best 
executed  by  commissioners,  to  be  specially  desig- 
nated for  the  purpose:  should  such  be  your  lordship's 
opinion,  you  will  suggest  that  mode  of  proceeding 
to  both  houses  of  the  provincial  legislature,  who,  I 
am  convinced,  would  willingly  incur  whatever  ex- 
pense maybe  inseparable  from  such  an  undertaking, 
unless  they  should  themselves  be  able  to  originate 
any  plan  of  inquiry  and  proceeding,  at  once  equally 
offectivc  and  economical. 

**  Eighthly. — The  administration  of  justice  is  said 
to  have  become  ineflicient  and  unnecessarily  ex- 
pensive. 

'«  As  the  provincial  tribunals  derive  their  present 
constitution  from  local  statute,  and  not  from  any 
exercise  of  his  Majesty's  prerogative,  it  is  not  with- 
in the  power  of  the  King  to  improve  the  mode  of 
administering  the  law,  or  to  diminish  the  costs  of 
litigation.    Your  lordship  will,  however,  assure  the 


viens'*.^^    i 


if.  ;1 

ti; 


1 


^1 


I J 


i  ,»  k 


1,1 


iWt'.l 


!J 


n 


lUO 


THE  nuonLEs 


w 


house  of  assembly,  that  his  Majesty  is  not  only 
ready,  but  most  desirous,  to  co-operate  with  them 
in  any  improvements  of  the  judicial  system  which 
the  wisdom  and  experience  of  the  two  houses  may 
suggest.  Your  lordship  will  immediately  assent  to 
any  bills  which  may  be  passed  for  that  purpose, 
excepting  in  the  highly  improbable  event  of  their 
being  found  open  to  some  apparently  conclusive 
objection;  even  in  that  case,  however,  you  will 
reserve  any  bills  for  improving  the  administration 
of  the  law  for  the  signification  of  his  Majesty's 
pleasure. 

♦*  Ninthly. — The  address  then  stales,  that  the  con- 
fusion and  uncertainty  of  which  the  House  complain, 
jjas  been  greatly  increased  by  enactments  aflccting 
real  property  in  the  colony  made  in  the  Parliament 
of  the  United  Kingdom  since  the  establishment  of 
the  provincial  legislature,  without  those  interested 
having  even  had  an  opportunity  of  being  heard; 
and  particularly  by  a  recent  decision  on  one  of 
the  said  enactments  in  the  provincial  court  of  ap- 
peals. ,' 

"  His  Majesty's  Government  can  have  no  con- 
troversy with  the  house  of  assembly  upon  this  sub- 
ject. The  house  cannot  state  in  stronger  terms, 
than  they  arc  disposed  to  acknowledge,  the  fitness 
of  leaving  to  the  legislature  of  Lower  Canada  ex- 
clusively the  enactment  of  every  law  which  may 
be  required  respecting  real  property  within  that 
province.  It  cannot  be  denied,  that  at  a  former 
period  a  difTerent  opinion  was  entertained  by  the 
British  government;  and  that  the  statute-book  of 
this  kingdom  contains  various  regulations  on  the 


or  OAITADA. 


101 


subject  of  lands  in  Lower  Canada,  which  might, 
perhaps,  have  been  moro  conveniently  enacted  in 
the  province  itself:  I  apprehend,  however,  that  this 
interference  of  Parliament  was  never  invoked,  ex- 
cept on  the  pressure  of  some  supposed  necessity; 
and  that  there  never  was  a  period  in  which  such 
acts  were  introduced  by  the  ministers  of  the  crown 
without  reluctance. 

"To  a  certain  extent,  the  statute  I  Will.  IV.,  c. 
'20,  which  was  passed  at  the  instance  of  his  Ma- 
jesty's Government  in  the  last  session  of  Parlia- 
ment, has  anticipated  the  complaint  to  which  I  am 
now  referring,  and  has  prevented  its  recurrence, 
by  authorizing  the  local  legislature  to  regulate 
whatever  relates  to  the  incidents  of  soccage  tenure 
in  the  province,  williout  reference  to  any  real  or 
supposed  repugnancy  of  any  such  regulations  to 
the  law  of  England.  If  there  is  any  other  part  of 
the  British  statute  law,  bearing  upon  this  topic,  to 
which  the  council  and  assembly  shall  object,  his 
Majesty's  Government  will  be  prepared  to  recom- 
mend Jo  Parliament  that  it  should  be  repealed." 

"  Tenthly. — It  is  stated  that  several  of  the  judges 
of  the  courts  in  the  province  have  long  been  engnged 
in,  and  have  even  taken  a  public  part  in  the  political 
aflairs  and  differences  of  the  province,  at  the  same 
time  holding  offices  during  pleasure,  and  situations 
incompatible  with  the  due  discharge  of  the  judicial 
functions. 

"  Under  this  head  again,  it  is  very  gratifying  to 
the  ministers  of  the  crown  to  find,  that  they  had,  in 
a  great  measure,  obviated  by  anticipation  the  com- 
plaint of  the  house  of  assembly.  In  the  despatch 
which  I  addressed  to  your  lordship,  on  the  8th 


m 


103 


THE  BUBBLES 


February,  No.  22,  every  arrangement  was  made 
which  could  be  either  suggested  or  carried  into  ef- 
fect by  his  Majesty's  authority,  for  removing  the 
judges  of  the  province  from  all  connexion  with  its 
political  affairs,  and  for  rendering  them  indepen- 
dent at  once  of  the  authority  of  the  Crown,  and  the 
control  of  the  other  branches  of  the  legislature; 
thus  placing  them  exactly  in  the  same  position  as 
that  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme  courts  at  West- 
minster. 

"  The  judges  themselves  have,  it  appears,  with 
laudable  promptitude,  concurred  in  giving  effect  to 
these  recommendations  by  discontinuing  their  at- 
tendance at  the  executive  council.  Nothing  there- 
fore, in  fact,  remains  for  terminating  all  discussions 
upon  this  subject,  but  that  the  house  of  assembly 
should  make  such  a  permanent  provision  for  the 
judges  as,  without  exceeding  a  just  remuneration, 
may  be  adequate  to  their  independent  maintenance 
in  that  rank  of  life  which  belongs  to  the  dignity  of 
their  station.  • 

"  I  am  not  aware  that  any  judge  in  Lower  Ca- 
nada holds  any  office,  excepting  that  of  executive 
counsellor,  during  the  pleasure  of  the  Crown,  or 
which  is  in  any  respect  incompatible  with  the  due 
discharge  of  his  official  functions;  if  any  such  case 
exists,  your  lordship  will  have  the  goodness  imme- 
diately to  report  to  me  all  the  circumstances  by 
which  it  may  be  attended,  in  order  that  the  neces- 
sary instructions  on  the  subject  may  be  given.  In 
the  mean  time  I  may  state,  without  reserve,  that 
no  judge  can  be  permitted  to  retain  any  office  cor- 
responding with  the  description  thus  given  by  the 
house  of  assembly,  in  combination  with  that  inde- 


OF  CANADA. 


103 


pendent  position  on  the  bench  to  which  I  have  re- 
ferred. 

"  Eleventhly. — The  address  proceeds  to  state  that, 
during  a  long  series  of  years,  executive  and  judici- 
ary offices  have  been  bestowed  almost  exclusively 
upon  one  class  of  subjects  in  the  province,  and  espe- 
cially upon  those  least  connected  by  property,  or 
otherwise,  with  its  permanent  inhabitants,  or  who 
have  shown  themselves  the  most  averse  to  the  rights, 
liberties,  and  interests  of  the  people.  It  is  added, 
that  several  of  these  persons  avail  themselves  of  the 
means  afforded  by  their  situations  to  prevent  the 
constitutional  and  harmonious  co-operation  of  the 
government  and  the  house  of  assembly,  and  to  ex- 
cite ill  feeling  and  discord  between  them,  while  they 
are  remiss  in  their  different  situations  to  forward 
the  public  business. 

"  I  quote  thus  largely  the  language  of  the  address, 
because  I  am  desirous  to  meet  every  part  of  it  in 
the  most  direct  manner,  as  well  as  in  the  most  con- 
ciliatory spirit.  It  is  not  from  any  want  of  that 
spirit  that  I  recommend  you  to  suggest  for  the  con- 
sideration of  the  house  of  assembly,  how  far  it  is 
possible  that  his  Majesty  should  clearly  understand, 
or  effectually  redress  a  grievance  which  is  brought 
under  his  notice  in  terms  thus  indefinite.  If  any  pub- 
lic oflScers  can  be  named  who  are  guilty  of  such  an 
abuse  of  their  powers,  and  of  such  remissness  in 
their  duties  as  are  implied  in  the  preceding  quota- 
tion, his  Majesty  would  not  be  slow  to  vindicate  the 
public  interest  by  removing  any  such  persons  from 
his  service.  If  it  can  be  shown  that  the  patronage 
of  the  crown  has  been  exercised  upon  any  narrow 
and  exclusive  maxims,  they  cannot  be  too  entirely 


i'  n 


!H 


k 


i 


104 


THE  BUBBLES 


disavowed  and  abandoned,  especially  if  it  be  true 
that  the  permanent  inhabitants  of  the  colony  do  not 
enjoy  a  full  participation  in  all  public  employments, 
the  house  of  assembly  may  be  assured  that  his  Ma- 
jesty can  have  no  desire  that  any  such  invidious 
distinctions  should  be  systematically  maintained. 
Beyond  this  general  statement  it  is  not  in  my  power 
to  advance.  I  am  entirely  ignorant  of  the  specific 
cases  to  which  the  general  expressions  of  the  assem- 
bly point.  I  can  only  state,  that  since  his  Majesty 
was  pleased  to  intrust  to  myself  the  seals  of  this  de- 
partment, no  opportunity  has  occurred  for  exer- 
cising the  patronage  of  the  crown  in  Lower  Cana- 
da, to  which  it  is  possible  that  the  assembly  can 
refer,  nor  have  my  inquiries  brought  to  light  any 
particular  case  of  a  more  remote  date  to  which 
their  language  would  appear  to  be  applicable. 

"  Twelfthly. — The  next  subject  of  complaint  is 
developed  in  the  following  words: — "That  there 
exists  no  sufficient  responsibility  on  the  part  of  the 
persons  holding  these  situations,  nor  any  adequate 
accountability  amongst  those  of  them  intrusted  with 
public  money ;  the  consequence  of  which  has  been 
the  misapplication  of  large  sums  of  public  money, 
and  of  the  money  of  individuals  by  defaulters,  with 
whom  deposites  were  made  under  legal  authority, 
hitherto  without  reimbursement  or  redress  havinsr 
been  obtained,  notwithstanding  the  humble  repre- 
sentations of  your  petitioners." 

It  would  be  impossible,  without  a  violation  of 
truth,  to  deny  that  at  a  period  not  very  remote 
heavy  losses  were  sustained  both  by  the  public  and 
by  individuals,  from  the  want  of  a  proper  system  of 
passing  and  auditing  their  accounts.    I  find,  how- 


OF  CANADA. 


105 


over,  that  in  his  despatch  of  the  29th  September,  Sir 
George  Murray  adverted  to  this  subject  in  terms  to 
which  I  find  it  difficult  to  make  any  useful  addition. 
His  words  are  as  follow : — "  The  complaints  which 
have  reached  this  office  respecting  an  adequate  so 
curity  given  by  the  receiver-general  and  by  the 
sheriffs,  for  the  due  application  of  public  money  in 
iheir  hands,  have  not  escaped  the  very  serious  at- 
Icntion  of  the  ministers  of  the  crown;  the  most 
effectual  security  against  abuses  of  this  nature 
would  be  to  prevent  the  accumulation  of  balances 
in  the  hands  of  public  accountants,  by  obliging  them 
to  exhibit  their  accounts  to  some  competent  author- 
ity at  short  intervals,  and  immediately  to  pay  over 
the  ascertained  balance.  The  proof  of  having 
punctually  performed  this  duty  should  be  made  the 
indispensable  condition  of  receiving  their  salaries, 
and  of  their  continuance      office. 

"  In  the  colony  of  New  South  Wales  a  regulation 
of  this  nature  has  been  established  under  his  Ma- 
jesty's instructions  to  the  governor  of  that  settlement, 
and  has  been  productive  of  great  public  convenience. 
If  a  similar  practice  were  introduced  in  Lower  Ca- 
nada for  the  regulation  of  the  office  of  receiver-ge- 
neral, and  for  that  of  sheriff,  the  only  apparent  dif- 
ficulty would  be  to  find  a  safe  place  of  deposite  for 
their  balances.  I  am,  however,  authorized  to 
slate,  that  the  lords'  commissioners  of  his  Majesty's 
Treasury  will  hold  themselves  responsible  to  the 
province  for  any  sums  which  the  receiver-general 
or  sheriff  may  pay  over  to  the  commissary-general. 
Your  excellency  will,  therefore,  propose  to  the  le- 
gislative council  and  assembly  the  enactment  of  a 
law  binding  these  officers  to  render  an  account  of 
10 


.  H'-H. 


'^^''m 


I M 


t.rm 


106 


THE  BUBBLES 


their  receipts  at  short  intervals,  and  to'pay  over  tlie 
balances  in  their  hands  to  the  commissary-general, 
upon  condition  that  that  officer  should  be  bound,  on 
demand,  to  deliver  a  bill  on  his  Majesty's  Treasury 
lor  the  amount  of  his  receipts.  I  trust  that,  in  this 
proposal,  the  legislature  will  find  a  proof  of  the  ear- 
nest desire  of  his  Majesty's  government  to  provide, 
as  far  as  may  be  practicable,  an  eflcctual  remedy 
ibr  every  case  of  real  grievance. 

"  If  the  preceding  instructions  have  proved  in- 
adequate to  the  redress  of  the  inconvenience  to 
which  they  refer,  I  can  assure  your  lordship  of  the 
cordial  concurrence  of  his  Majesty's  government  in 
any  more  efleclive  measures  which  may  be  recom- 
mended for  that  purpose,  either  by  yourself  or  by 
either  of  the  houses  of  the  provincial  legislature. 

"  The  losses  which  the  province  sustained  by  the 
default  of  the  late  Mr.  Caldwell  is  a  subject  which 
his  Majesty's  Government  contemplate  with  the 
deepest  regret — a  feeling  enhanced  by  the  painful 
conviction  of  their  inability  to  alFord  to  the  pro- 
vincial revenues  any  adequate  compensation  for  so 
serious  an  injury ;  what  is  in  their  power  they  have 
gladly  done  by  the  instruction  conveyed  to  your 
lordship  in  the  early  part  of  this  despatch,  to  place 
at  the  disposal  of  the  legislature,  for  general  pur- 
poses, the  sum  of  £7,154.  15s.  4^cl.,  recovered  from 
Mr.  Caldwell's  property.  The  assembly  will,  1 
trust,  accept  this  as  a  proof  of  the  earnest  desire  of 
his  Majesty's  Government  to  consult  to  the  utmost 
of  their  ability  the.  pecuniary  interests  of  the  pro- 
vince. 

"  Thirteenthly.  The  address  proceeds  to  stale 
that  *  the  evils  of  this  state  of  things  have  been 


,  n 


OF  CANADA. 


107 


greatly  aggravated  by  enactments  made  in  the  Par- 
liament of  the  United  Kingdom,  without  even  the 
knowledge  of  the  people  of  this  colony,  which  en- 
actments have  rendered  temporary  duties  imposed 
by  the  provincial  legislature  permanent,  leaving  in 
the  hands  of  public  officers,  over  whom  the  assem- 
bly has  no  effectual  control,  large  sums  of  money 
arising  within  this  province,  which  are  applied  by 
persons  subject  to  no  sufficient  accountabiUty." 

"  1  understand  this  complaint  to  refer  to  the  28lh 
clause  of  the  Stat.  S  Geo.  IV.,  c.  119.  The  duties 
mentioned  in  that  enactment  are  continued  until 
some  act  for  repealing  or  altering  them  shall  be 
passed  by  the  legislative  council  and  assembly  of 
Lower  Canada,  and  until  a  copy  of  any  such  new 
act  siiall  have  been  transmitted  to  the  governor  of 
Upper  Canada,  and  ^hall  have  been  laid  before  both 
houses  of  Parliament,  and  assented  to  by  his  Ma- 
jesty. The  motive  for  this  enactment  is  explained 
in  the  preamble,  to  have  been  the  necessity  of  ob- 
viating the  evils  experienced  in  the  Upper  Province 
from  the  exercise  of  an  exclusive  control  by  the 
legislature  of  Lower  Canada  over  imports  and  ex- 
ports at  the  port  of  Quebec.  I  acknowledge  wutli- 
out  reserve,  that  nothing  but  the  necessity  of  me- 
diating between  the  two  provinces  would  have 
justified  such  an  interference  by  Parliament;  and  if 
any  adequate  security  can  be  devised  against  the 
recurrence  of  similar  difficulties,  the  enactment 
ought  to  be  repealed.  The  peculiar  geographical 
position  of  Upper  Canada,  enjoying  no  access  to  the 
sea,  except  through  a  province  wholly  independent 
on  itself,  on  the  one  hand,  or  through  a  foreign  state 
on  the  other,  was  supposed  in  the  year  1822  to 


!,  1 


III 


108 


THE  BUBBLES 


have  created  the  necessity  for  enacting  so  peculiar 
a  law  for  its  protection.  I  should  be  much  gratified 
to  learn,  that  no  such  necessity  exists  at  present,  or 
can  be  reasonably  anticipated  hereafter ;  for  upon 
sufficient  evidence  of  that  fact,  his  Majesty's  Go- 
vernment would  at  once  recommend  to  Parliament 
the  repeal  of  that  part  of  the  statute  to  which  the 
address  of  the  house  of  assembly  refers.  The  mi- 
nisters of  the  Crown  would  even  be  satisfied  to  pro- 
pose to  Parliament  the  repeal  of  the  enactment  in 
i]uestion,  upon  proof  that  the  legislature  of  the  Upper 
Province  deem  such  protection  superfluous ;  perhaps 
it  may  be  found  practicable  to  arrange  this  matter 
by  communications  between  the  legislatures  of  the 
two  provinces.  The  ministers  of  the  Crown  arc 
prepared  to  co-operate  to  the  fullest  extent  in  any 
measure  which  the  two  legislatures  shall  concur  in 
recommending  for  the  amendment  or  repeal  of  the 
>Statute  3  Geo.  IV.,  c.  119,  s.  2'8. 

•*  Fourteenthly. — The  selection  of  the  legislative 
counsellors  and  the  constitution  of  that  bodv,  whicii 
forms  the  last  subject  of  complaint  in  the  address,  1 
shall  not  notice  in  this  place,  any  farther  than  to 
say,  that  it  will  form  the  matter  of  a  separate  com- 
munication, since  the  topic  is  too  extensive  and  im- 
j)ortant  to  be  conveniently  embraced  in  my  present 
despatch. 

"The  preceding  review  of  the  questions  brought 
by  the  house  of  assembly,  appears  to  me  entirely  to 
justify  the  expectations  which  I  have  expressed  at 
the  commencement  of  this  despatch,  of  a  speedy, 
effectual,  and  amicable  termination  of  the  protracted 
discussions  of  several  years.  It  would  be  injurious 
to  the  house  of  assembly  to  attribute  to  them  any 


OF  CAXADA. 


109 


such  captious  spirit  as  would  keep  alive  a  contest 
upon  a  few  minor  and  insignificant  details,  after 
the  statement  I  have  made  of  the  general  accord- 
ance between  the  views  of  his  Majesty's  govern- 
ment and  their  own,  upon  so  many  important  ques- 
tions of  Canadian  policy.  Little  indeed  remains 
for  debate,  and  that  little  will,  I  am  convinced,  be 
discussed  with  feelings  of  mutual  kindness  and  good 
will,  and  with  an  earnest  desire  to  strengthen  the 
bonds  of  union  already  subsisting  between  the  two 
countries.  His  Majesty  will  esteem  it  as  amongst 
the  most  enviable  distinctions  of  his  reign,  to  have 
contributed  to  so  great  and  desirable  a  result. 

"  Vour  lordship  will  take  the  earliest  opportunity 
of  transmitting  to  the  house  of  assembly  a  copy  of 
this  despatch. 

*'  I  have,  &c. 

"  (Signed)  Goderich." 


;'  !  }'> 


\iPlAi 


UM 


10* 


!:;;?; 


iiir 


<-^*^!t. 


110 


THE  DUBRLE9 


LETTER  VII. 


The  time  had  now  arrived  (1832)  when  every 
grievance,  so  far  as  the  remedy  lay  with  the  go- 
vernment, had  been  removed,  according  to  the  re- 
commendations of  the  committee.  Whatever  re- 
quired the  co-operation  of  the  assembly  themselves, 
remained  untouched.  They  had  asked  what  they  did 
not  require,  and  hoped  would  not  be  granted,  so  that 
the  odium  of  refusal  might  serve  as  a  pretext  for 
farther  agitation.  Several  of  the  changes  solicited 
would  have  weakened  their  influence,  and  they 
])referred  to  suflfer  things  to  remain  as  they  were. 
There  now  existed  no  impediment  to  the  public 
tranquiUity;  and,  if  their  intentions  had  been  honest, 
wc  should  have  heard  no  more  of  Canadian  discon- 
tent. Several  men  of  character  and  standing  in  the 
t'olony,  who  had  hitherto  acted  with  the  French 
faction,  now  separated  themselves  from  them,  de- 
claring that  they  had  obtained  all,  and  even  more 
than  they  had  sought,  and  that  they  had  now  no- 
thing farther  to  ask  but  to  enjoy  in  tranquillity  the 
fruits  of  their  labour.  When  they  found  there  was 
no  corresponding  feeling  in  the  breasts  of  their  col- 
leagues, and  that  these  concessions  were  merely 
used  as  the  groundwork  of  farther  changes,  they 
became  alarmed,  and  for  the  first  time  were  made 
sensible  of  what  the  public  had  always  known  with 
unfeigned  sorrow,  that  they  had  been  all  along  the 
dupes  of  their  own  liberal  notions  and  the  artifices 


Il  •.••  1 


or  CANADA. 


Ill 


of  others.  They  had  now  full  time  to  reflect  upon 
the  mischief  they  had  done  and  their  own  inability 
to  make  reparation,  and  have  added  another  illus- 
tration to  the  numbers  we  already  have  on  record 
of  how  much  easier  it  is  to  open  the  flood-gates  of 
popular  prejudice  and  passion,  than  to  close  them 
against  the  force  of  the  current.  They  arc  now 
likely  to  become  the  victims  of  their  own  folly,  and 
to  be  overwhelmed  in  the  ruins  caused  by  the  inun- 
dation to  which  they  have  unfortunately  contributed, 
by  cutting  away  the  embankments.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  lesson  will  not  be  lost  upon  England ;  and 
it  may,  perhaps,  afford  these  unhappy  men  some 
consolation  if  the  safety  of  others  is  confirmed  by 
the  contemplation  of  the  fatal  effects  of  their  folly. 
The  request  of  Lord  Aylmer,  that  they  would  bring 
forward  all  their  demands,  and,  if  they  had  any 
farther  ones,  to  add  them  to  their  catalogue,  or  that 
he  should  feel  himself  entitled  to  report  there  were 
none  others,  was  received  with  surprise,  but  in  si- 
lence, and  he  very  fairly  concluded  that  they  had 
exhausted  their  budget.  This  was  the  natural  in- 
ference, and  it  appears  that  parliament  flattered  it- 
self also  that  the  whole  subject  was  now  fully  be- 
fore them.  It  is  true  the  tone  and  temper  of  the 
house  of  assembly  were  not  materially  altered,  and 
that  the  next  four  years  were  consumed  in  local 
disputes,  during  which  no  appicjjriation  was  made 
for  the  public  service;  but  all  this  was  charitably 
supposed  to  be  the  effect  of  previous  excitement, 
and  it  was  thought  not  unnatural  that  some  time 
should  elapse  before  their  angry  feelings  could 
wholly  subside.    But  what  was  their  astonishment, 


112 


THE  BUBBLES 


after  their  declining  the  unprecedented  request  of 
the  governor  to  exhibit  any  farther  complaints  if 
they  had  any,  to  find  that,  in  1834,  they  were  pre- 
pared to  come  forward  with  ninety-two  resolutions 
of  fresli  grievance!  This  extraordinary  step  re- 
vived the  hopes  of  every  loyalist  throughout  the 
adjoining  colonies.  Surely,  they  said,  this  last  un- 
grateful, unprovoked  attempt  will  open  the  eyes  of 
the  English  nation  to  the  ulterior  views  of  Papineau 
and  his  party !  It  takes  much  provocation  to  arouse 
the  British  lion;  but,  surely,  this  last  thrust  will  be 
more  than  he  can  bear!  lie  will  make  his  voice 
to  be  iieard  across  the  waters  and  sedition  will  flv 
terrified  to  its  cover.  But,  alas,  they  were  mis- 
taken. Noble  and  spirited  as  the  animal  once  was, 
he  is  now  old  and  infirm — a  timid  people  have  filed 
his  tectli,  and  shortened  his  claws,  and  stupefied 
him  with  drugs,  and  his  natural  pride  disdains 
exhibit  an  unsuccessful  imbecility.  It  was  received 
with  a  meekness  and  mildness  that  filled  every  body 
that  had  known  him  in  former  years  with  astonish- 
ment and  pity;  they  could  not  recognise,  in  the  timid 
and  crouching  creature  before  them,  the  same  animal 
whose  indomitable  courage  and  muscular  strength 
had  formerly  conquered  these  same  Canadians,  even 
when  supported  by  all  the  resources  of  France,  who 
now,  single-handed  and  alone,  defied  him  to  combat. 
But  this  is  too  painful  a  picture  to  dwell  upon. 

This  singular  document  is  well  worthy  of  your 
perusal;  its  want  of  intrinsic  weight  is  more  than 
compensated  by  its  prolixity.  The  astounding  num- 
ber of  ninety-two  resolutions  was  well  calculated  to 
delude  strangers,  and  to  induce  them  to  think  that 


or  CANADA. 


113 


the  evils  under  which  they  laboured  were  almost  too 
many  for  enumeration.  As  imagination  is  always 
more  fertile  than  truth,  they  very  wisely  resorted  to 
the  former,  and  were  thus  enabled  to  supply  them- 
selves with  any  charge  they  required.  It  would 
doubtless  have  appeared  singular  to  the  sympathizers 
of  England,  if  the  aggregate  had  amounted  to  so  re- 
markable a  number  as  one  hundred:  it  would  have 
struck  them  as  a  suspicious  coincidence  that  they 
should  have  exactly  reached  "  a  round  number,"  and 
filled  a  well  known  measure,  and  therefore,  with  an 
acutencss  peculiar  to  people  accustomed  to  fabricate 
talcs  of  fictitious  distress,  they  wisely  stopped  at 
ninety-two.  But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  even 
Canadian  exaggeration  could  find  a  grievance  for 
each  number.  Some  were  merely  declamatory,  and 
others  personal;  some  complimented  persons  on  this 
side  of  the  water,  whose  politics  they  thought  re- 
sembled their  own,  and  others  expressed  or  implied 
a  censure  against  obnoxious  persons,  while  not  a  few 
were  mere  repetitions  of  what  had  been  previously 
said.  Such  a  state  paper,  drawn  up  on  such  an  oc- 
casion by  the  most  eminent  men  in  the  house  for  the 
perusal  of  such  a  body  of  men  as  the  members  of  the 
imperial  parliament,  is  of  itself  a  proof  how  little  fit- 
ted the  Canadians  are  for  constitutional  gpvernment. 


i 


'I  ■'  ^ 


'h 


■\Xm 


1.  Resolved,  That  His  Majesty's  loyal  subjects,  t!io  people 
of  this  Province  of  Lower  Canada,  liave  shown  the  strongest 
attaciunent  to  the  British  Empire,  of  wliich  they  are  a  portion : 
that  they  have  repeatedly  defended  it  with  courage  in  time  of 
war;  that  at  the  time  which  preceded  the  independence  of  the 
late  British  Colonies  on  this  continent,  they  resisted  the  ap- 
peal made  to  them  by  those  colonies  to  join  their  confedera- 
tion. 


114 


THE  IlUllULES 


'2.  Resolved,  Tliat  the  people  of  this  province  have  at  all 
times  mnnifcstcd  tlicir  coulklenco  in  His  Majesty's  CJovcrn* 
mcnt,  even  iimlor  circnniHtanccs  of  the  greatest  difficulty,  and 
wlicn  tlio  {jovcrnincnt  of  the  province  has  been  administered 
by  men  who  trampled  under  foot  flic  rights  and  feelings  dear* 
c&t  to  Jiritiiiili  siibjix'ts;  and  tlint  these  sentiments  of  the  people 
of  tliiH  province  roinain  unchnn;,'ed. 

J}.  Resolved,  'I'Imt  tlio  pooplo  of  this  Province  have  always 
tiliown  tiiomsclvcs  ready  to  welcome  and  receive  as  brethren 
tliosc  of  their  follow  subjects  who,  having  quitted  the  United 
Kingdom  or  its  dependencies,  liuvo  cliosen  this  province  as 
their  home,  and  liavo  earnestly  endeavoured  (as  far  as  on  them 
depended)  to  afford  every  facility  to  iheir  participating  in  the 
political  advantages,  and  in  the  means  of  rendering  their  in- 
dutilry  available,  which  the  people  of  this  province  enjoy;  and 
to  remove  for  them  the  diflioultics  arising  from  the  vicious 
system  adopted  by  those  who  have  administered  tho  govern- 
ment of  tho  province,  with  regard  to  those  portions  of  tho 
country  in  which  tho  new-comers  have  generally  chosen  to 
tjelfle. 

4.  Resolved,  That  this  House,  as  representing  tho  people  of 
this  province,  has  shown  an  earnest  zeal  to  advance  the  gene- 
ral prosperity  of  tho  country,  by  securing  the  peace  and  con- 
tent of  all  classes  of  its  inhabitanfL',  without  any  distinction  of 
origin  or  creed,  and  upon  the  solid  and  durable  basis  of  unity 
of  interest,  and  equal  confidence  in  the  protection  of  the  mo- 
ther country. 

5.  Resolved,  That  this  House  has  seized  every  occasion  to 
adopt,  and  firmly  to  establish  by  law  in  this  province,  not  only 
the  constitutional  and  parliamentary  law  of  England,  which  is 
necessary  to  carry  the  Government  into  operation,  but  all  such 
parts  of  tho  public  law  of  the  United  Kingdom  as  have  ap- 
peared to  this  house  adapted  to  promote  the  welfare  ond  safety 
of  the  people,  and  to  be  conformable  to  their  wishes  and  their 
wants;  and  that  this  hou£0  has,  in  like  manner,  wisely  endea- 
voured so  to  regulate  its  proceedings  as  to  render  them,  as 
closely  as  the  circumstances  of  this  colony  permit,  analogous 
to  the  practice  of  the  House  of  Commons  of  the  United  King- 
dom. 


OP  CANADA. 


115 


i\.  Rcsolvctl,  That  in  tlio  year  l'*'V,  the  prroat  mnjority  ot' 
tho  people  of  this  province  coinplainod,  in  potitions  Bignetl  by 
H7,0(K)  persons,  of  serious  nnd  nnnif^rnus  nl/tit-rs  w  hjcli  thon 
prevailed,  many  of  which  had  then  existed  fur  a  <^rcui  number 
of  years,  and  of  which  the  greater  '^rt  still  (i%ht,  without  cor- 
rection or  nuliyation. 

7.  Resolved,  That  tho  compl'iinta  fif'irosnid,  nnd  tho 
{,'rievanccB  whicli  gave  rise  to  tlieni,  boin^r  siii)ri)ittcd  to  tho 
considorotion  of  the  Parliiunont  of  the  United  Kin;,f(lom,  occa- 
sioned tho  appointment  of  a  coininittoo  of  tiio  House  of  Coni» 
mons,  of  which  tho  Ilonourahio  Edward  (JooHVoy  Stanley,  now 
his  Mojesty'a  principal  secretary  of  htate  for  the  colonial  de- 
partment, ond  several  others,  wiio  nro  now  mcinberH  of  his 
Majesty's  government,  formed  pnrt;  and  that,  alK^r  a  careful 
investigation  and  duo  deliberation,  tlio  said  committee,  on  the 
IHih  of  July,  lHii8,  came  to  tho  following  very  just  conclu- 
riions : 

1st.  •' That  the  embarrassments  and  discontents  that 
had  long  prevailed  in  the  Canadas,  had  arisen  from  serious 
defects  in  the  system  of  laws,  and  the  constitutions  esta- 
blished in  tiiose  colonies. 

2dly.  "  That  these  embarrassments  were  in  a  great 
measure  to  be  attributed  to  the  manner  in  which  the  ex- 
isting system  had  been  ndministerod. 

ydly.  "  That  they  had  a  complete  conviction  that  nei- 
ther the  suggestions  which  they  had  made,  nor  any  other 
improvements  in  the  laws  and  constitutions  of  the  Cana- 
dos,  will  be  attended  with  the  desired  effect,  unless  an 
impartial,  conciliating,  and  constitutional  system  of  go- 
vernment were  observed  in  these  royal  and  important  co- 
lonies." 

8.  Resolved,  That  since  the  period  oforesaid,  the  constitu- 
tion of  this  province,  with  its  serious  defects,  has  continued  to 
be  administered  in  a  manner  calculated  to  multiply  the  embar- 
rassments and  discontents  which  have  long  prevailed ;  and  that 
the  recommendations  of  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons have  not  been  followed  by  efTcctive  measures  of  a  nature 
to  produce  the  desired  efiect 


!' 


1^' 


j> 


'I' 


I 


i 


.     .        !         II 

I 


IP 

P 


ifr, 

1-4 


■3 


116 


THE  BUBBLES 


ii 

i 


9.  Resolved,  That  the  most  serious  defect  in  the  Constitu- 
tional Act — its  radical  fault — tlie  most  active  principle  of  evil 
and  discontent  in  the  province;  the  most  powerful  and  most 
frequent  cause  of  abuses  of  power;  of  infractions  of  the  lav/s; 
of  the  waste  of  the  public  revenue  and  property,  accompanied 
by  impunity  to  the  governing  party,  and  the  oppression  and 
consequent  resentment  of  the  governed,  is  that  injudicious 
enactment,  the  fatal  results  of  which  were  foretold  by  the  Ho- 
nourable Ciiarles  James  Fox  at  the  time  of  its  adoption,  whicli 
invests  the  Crown  with  that  exorbitant  powc ',  (incompatible 
with  any  government  duly  balanced  and  founded  on  law  and 
justice,  and  not  on  force  and  coercion)  of  selecting  and  com- 
posing without  any  rule  or  limitation,  or  any  predetermined 
qualification,  an  entire  branch  of  the  legislature,  supposed  from 
the  nature  of  its  attributions  to  be  independent,  but  inevitably 
the  servile  tool  of  the  authority  which  creates,  composes,  and 
decomposes  it,  and  can  on  any  day  modify  it  to  suit  the  inte- 
rests or  the  passions  of  the  moment. 

10.  Resolved,  Thst  with  the  permission  of  a  power  so  un- 
limited, the  abuse  of  it  is  inseparably  connected;  and  that  it 
has  always  been  so  exercised  in  the  selection  of  the  Members 
of  the  Legislative  Council  of  this  province,  as  to  favour  the 
spirit  of  monopoly  and  despotism  in  the  executive,  judicial,  and 
administrative  departments  of  government,  and  never  in  favour 
of  the  public  interests. 

11.  Resolved,  That  the  effectual  remedy  for  this  evil  was 
judiciously  foreseen  and  pointed  out  by  the  Committee  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  who  asked  John  Neilson,  Esquire,  (one  of 
the  agents  who  had  carried  to  England  the  petition  of  the 
87,000  inhabitants  of  Lower  Canada,)  whether  he  had  turned 
in  his  mind  any  plan  by  which  he  conceived  the  Legislative 
Council  might  be  better  composed  in  Lower  Canada;  whether 
he  thought  it  possible  that  the  said  body  could  command  the 
confidence  and  respect  of  the  people,  or  go  in  harmony  with 
the  house  of  assembly,  unless  the  principle  of  election  were 
introduced  into  its  corinosition  in  some  manner  or  other;  and 
also,  whether  he  thought  that  the  colony  could  have  any  se- 
curity that  the  legislative  council  would  be  properly  and  inde- 
pendently composed,  unless  the  principle  of  election  were  in- 


OF  CANADA. 


117 


troduced  into  it  in  some  manner  or  other;  and  received  from 
the  said  John  Neilson  answers,  in  which  (among  other  reflec- 
tions) he  said  in  substance,  that  there  were  two  modes  in 
which  the  composition  of  the  legislative  council  might  be  bet- 
tered ;  the  one  by  appointing  men  who  were  independent  of 
the  executive,  (but  that  to  judge  from  experience  there  would 
be  no  security  that  this  would  be  done,)  and  that  if  this  mode 
were  found  impracticable,  the  other  would  be  to  render  the 
legislative  council  elective. 

12.  Resolved,  That,  judging  from  experience,  this  house 
likewise  believes  there  would  be  no  security  in  the  first  men- 
tioned mode,  the  course  of  events  having  but  too  amply  proved 
what  was  then  foreseen;  and  that  this  house  approves  all  the 
inferences  drawn  by  the  said  John  Neilson  from  experience 
and  facts;  but  that  with  regard  to  his  suggestion  that  a  class 
of  electors  of  a  higher  qualification  should  be  established,  or  a 
qualification  in  property  fixed  for  those  persons  who  might 
sit  in  the  council,  this  house  have,  in  their  address  to  his 
Most  Gracious  Majesty,  dated  the  20th  of  March,  1833,  de- 
clared in  what  manner  this  principle  could,  in  their  opinion, 
be  rendered  tolerable  in  Canada,  by  restraining  it  within  cer- 
tain bounds,  which  should  in  no  case  be  passed. 

13.  Resolved,  That  even  in  defining  bounds  of  this  nature, 
and  requiring  the  possession  of  real  property  as  a  condition  of 
eligibility  to  a  legislative  council,  chosen  by  the  people,  which 
most  wisely  and  happily  lias  not  been  made  a  condition  of  eli- 
gibility to  the  house  of  assembly,  this  house  seems  rather  to 
have  sought  to  avoid  shocking  received  opinions  in  Europe, 
where  custom  and  the  law  have  given  so  many  artificial  pri- 
vileges and  advantages  to  birth  and  rank  and  fortune,  than  to 
consult  the  opinions  generally  received  in  America,  where  the 
influence  of  birth  is  nothing,  and  where,  notwithstanding  the 
importance  which  fortune  must  always  naturally  confer,  the 
artificial  introduction  of  great  political  privileges  in  favour  of 
the  possessors  of  large  property,  could  not  long  resist  the  pre- 
ference given  at  free  elections  to  virtue,  talents,  and  informa- 
tion, which  fortune  does  not  exclude  but  can  never  purchase, 
and  which  may  be  the  portion  of  honest,  contented,  and  devoted 

11 


It  I. 


118 


THE  BUBBLES 


I 


\ 


\ 


men,  whom  the  people  ought  to  have  the  power  of  calling  and 
consecrating  to  the  public  service,  in  preference  to  richer  men, 
of  whom  they  may  think  less  highly. 

14.  Resolved,  That  this  house  is  no  wise  disposed  to  admit 
the  excellence  of  the  present  constitution  of  Canada,  although 
his  Majesty's  secretary  of  state  for  the  colonies  has  unseason- 
ably and  erroneously  asserted,  that  it  has  conferred  on  the  two 
Canadas  the  institutions  of  Great  Britain ;  nor  to  reject  the 
principle  of  extending  the  system  of  frequent  elections  much 
farther  than  it  is  at  present  carried ;  and  this  system  ought 
especially  to  be  extended  to  the  legislative  council,  although 
it  may  be  considered  by  the  colonial  secretary  incompatible 
with  the  British  government,  which  he  calls  a  monarchical  go- 
vernment, or  too  analogous  to  the  institutions  which  the  seve- 
ral states,  composing  the  industrious,  moral,  and  prosperous 
confederation  of  the  United  States  of  America,  have  adopted 
for  themselves. 

15.  Resolved,  That  in  a  despatch  of  which  the  date  is  un- 
known, and  of  which  a  part  only  was  communicated  to  this 
house  by  the  governor-in-chief  on  tlie  14th  of  January,  1834, 
his  Majesty's  secretary  of  state  for  the  Colonial  Department 
(this  house  having  no  certain  knowledge  whether  the  said 
despatch  is  from  the  present  colonial  secretary  or  from  his 
predecessor)  says,  that  an  examination  of  the  composition  of 
the  legislative  council  at  that  period  (namely,  at  the  time 
when  its  composition  was  so  justly  censured  by  a  Committee 
of  the  House  of  Commons)  and  at  the  present,  will  sufficiently 
show  in  what  spirit  his  Majesty's  Government  has  endeavoured 
to  carry  the  wishes  of  Parliament  into  effect. 

16.  Resolved,  That  this  House  receives  with  gratitude  this 
assurance  of  the  just  and  benevolent  intentions,  with  which, 
in  the  performance  of  their  duty,  his  Majesty's  ministers  have 
endeavoured  to  give  effect  to  the  wishes  of  parliament. 

17.  Resolved,  That  unhappily  it  was  left  to  the  principal 
agent  of  his  Majesty's  Government  in  this  province  to  carry 
the  wishes  of  the  Imperial  Parliament  into  effect;  but  that  he 
has  destroyed  the  hope  which  his  Majesty's  faithful  subjects 
had  conceived  of  seeing  the  legislative  council  reformed  and 
ameliorated,  and  has  confirmed  them  in  the  opinion  that  the 


<0F  OAITADA. 


119 


only  possible  mode  of  giving  to  that  body  the  weight  and  re* 
spectability  which  it  ought  to  possess,  is  to  introduce  into  it 
the  principle  Selection. 

18.  Resolved,  That  the  legislative  council,  strengthened  by 
a  majority  inimical  to  the  rights  of  this  house  and  of  the  peo- 
pie  whom  it  represents,  has  received  new  and  more  powerful 
means  than  it  before  possessed  of  perpetuating  and  of  render- 
ing more  offensive  and  more  hurtful  to  the  country  the  system 
of  abuses  of  which  the  people  of  this  province  have  up  to  thi? 
-day  ineffectually  complained,  and  which  up  to  this  day,  parlia- 
ment  and  his  Majesty's  goverument  in  England  have  ineffec- 
tually pought  to  correct. 

19.  Resolved,  That  since  its  pretended  reform  the  legisla- 
tive council  has,  in  a  manner  more  calculated  to  alarm  the 
inhabitants  of  this  province,  and  more  particularly  in  its  Ad- 
dress to  his  Majesty  of  the  1st  of  April,  1833,  renewed  its 
pretension  of  being  specially  appointed  to  protect  one  class  of 
his  Majesty's  subjects  in  this  province,  as  supposing  them  to 
have  interests  which  could  not  be  sufficiently  represented  in 
the  assembly,  seven-eighths  of  the  members  of  which  are  by  the 
said  council  most  erroneously  stated  to  be  of  French  origin  and 
speak  the  French  language :  that  this  pretension  is  a  violation 
of  the  constitution,  and  is  of  a  nature  to  excite  and  perpetuate 
among  the  several  classes  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  province 
mutual  distrust  and  national  distinctions  and  animosities,  and 
to  give  one  portion  of  the  people  an  unjust  and  factious  supe- 
riority over  the  other,  and  the  hope  of  domination  and  undue 
preference. 

20.  Resolved,  That  by  such  claim  the  legislative  council, 
afler  a  reform  which  was  held  up  as  one  adapted  to  unite  it 
more  closely  with  the  interests  of  the  colony  in  conformity 
with  the  wishes  of  parliament,  calls  down  as  one  of  its  first 
acts,  the  prejudices  and  severity  of  his  Majesty's  Government 
upon  the  people  of  this  province  and  upon  the  representative 
branch  of  the  legislature  thereof,  and  that  by  this  conduct  the 
legislative  council  has  destroyed  amongst  the  people  all  hope 
which  was  left  them  of  seeing  the  said  council,  so  long  as  it 
fihall  remain  constituted  as  it  now  is,  act  in  harmony  with  the 
house  of  assembly.  » 


ttv. 


120 


THE!  BUBBLES 


11 


* 


21.  Resolved,  that  the  legislative  council  of  this  province 
has  never  been  any  thing  else  but  an  impotent  skreen  between 
the  governor  and  the  people,  which  by  enabling  the  one  to 
maintain  a  conflict  with  the  others  has  served  to  perpetuate  a 
system  of  discord  and  contention ;  that  it  has  unceasingly  act- 
ed with  avowed  hostility  to  the  sentiments  of  the  people  as 
constitutionally  expressed  by  the  house  of  assembly;  that  it  is 
not  right  under  the  name  of  a  legislative  council  to  impose  an 
aristocracy  on  a  country  which  contains  no  natural  materials 
for  the  composition  of  such  a  body;  that  the  parliament  of  the 
United  Kingdom  in  granting  to  his  Majesty's  Canadian  sub- 
jects the  power  of  revising  the  constitution  under  which  they 
hold  their  dearest  rights,  would  adopt  a  liberal  policy,  free 
from  all  consideration  of  former  interests  and  of  existing  pre- 
judices; and  that  by  this  measure,  equally  consistent  with  a 
wise  and  sound  policy,  and  with  the  most  liberal  and  extended 
views,  the  parliament  of  the  United  Kingdom  would  enter 
into  a  noble  rivalry  with  the  United  States  of  America,  would 
prevent  his  Majesty's  subjects  from  seeing  any  thing  to  envy 
there;  and  would  preserve  a  friendly  intercourse  between 
Great  Britain  and  this  province,  as  her  colony  so  long  as  the 
tie  between  us  shall  continue,  and  as  her  ally  whenever  the 
course  of  events  may  change  our  relative  position. 

22.  Resolved,  That  this  house  so  much  the  more  confiden- 
tially emits  the  opinions  expressed  in  the  preceding  resolution, 
because,  if  any  faith  is  to  be  placed  in  the  published  reports, 
they  were  at  no  distant  period  emitted  with  other  remarks  in 
the  same  spirit,  in  the  commons  house  of  the  United  Kingdom, 
by  the  Right  Honourable  Edward  Geoffrey  Stanley,  now  his 
Majesty's  principal  secretary  of  state  for  the  Colonial  depart- 
ment, and  by  several  other  enlightened  and  distinguished  mem- 
bers, some  of  whom  are  among  the  number  of  his  Majesty's 
present  ministers;  and  because  the  conduct  of  the  legislative 
council  since  its  pretended  reform,  demonstrates  that  the  said 
opinions  are  in  no  wise  rendered  less  applicable  or  less  correct 
by  its  present  composition. 

23.  Resolved,  That  the  legislative  council  has  at  the  pre- 
sent time  less  community  of  interest  with  the  province  than 
at  any  former  period ;  that  its  preaint  composition,  instead  of 


or  CANADA. 


121 


being  calculated  to  change  the  character  of  the  body,  to  put 
an  end  to  complaints,  and  to  bring  about  that  co-operation  of 
the  two  houses  of  the  legislature  which  is  so  necessary  to  the 
welfare  of  the  country,  is  such  as  to  destroy  all  hope  that  the 
said  council  will  adopt  the  opinions  and  sentiments  of  the  peo- 
ple of  this  province,  and  of  this  house  with  regard  to  the  in- 
alienable right  of  the  latter  to  the  full  and  entire  control  of 
the  whole  revenue  raised  in  the  province,  with  regard  to  the 
necessity  under  which  this  house  has  found  itself  (for  the  pur- 
pose of  effecting  the  reformation  which  it  has  so  long  and  so 
vainly  demanded  of  existing  abuses)  to  provide  for  the  expenses 
of  the  civil  government  by  annual  appropriations  only,  as  well 
with  regard  to  a  variety  of  other  questions  of  public  interest, 
concerning  which  the  executive  government,  and  the  legisla- 
tive council  which  it  has  selected  and  created,  differ  diametri- 
cally from  the  people  of  this  province  and  from  this  house. 

24.  Resolved,  Tiiat  such  of  the  recently  appointed  counsel- 
lors as  were  taken  from  the  majority  of  the  assembly,  and  had 
entertained  the  hope  that  a  sufHcient  number  of  independent 
men,  holding  opinions  in  unison  with  those  of  the  majority  of 
the  people  and  of  their  representatives,  would  be  associated 
with  them,  must  now  feci  that  they  are  overwhelmed  by  a  ma- 
jority hostile  to  the  country,  and  composed  of  men  who  have 
irretrievably  lost  tlie  public  confidence,  by  showing  tliemselves 
the  blind  and  passionate  partisans  of  all  abuses  of  power,  by 
encouraging  all  the  acts  of  violence  committed  under  the  ad- 
ministration of  Lord  Dalhuusic,  by  having  on  all  occasions  out- 
raged the  representatives  of  the  people  of  the  country;  of  men, 
unknown  in  the  country  until  within  a  few  years,  without  land- 
ed property  or  having  very  little,  most  of  whom  have  never 
been  returned  to  the  assembly,  (some  of  them  even  having  been 
refused  by  the  people,)  and  who  have  never  given  any  proofs 
of  their  fitness  for  performing  the  functions  of  legislators,  but 
merely  of  their  hatred  to  the  country;  and  who,  by  reason  of 
their  community  of  sentiment  with  him,  have  found  them- 
selves, by  the  partiality  of  the  governor-in-chief,  suddenly 
raised  to  a  station  in  which  they  have  the  power  of  exerting 
during  life,  an  influence  over  the  legislation  and  over  the  fate 

11* 


I.! 


.    i 


i .  , 


l\ '.'. 


i 


122 


THE  BUBBLES 


of  this  province,  the  laws  and  institutions  of  which  have  ever 
been  the  objects  of  their  dislike. 

25.  Resolved,  That  in  manifest  violation  of  the  constitution, 
there  are  among  the  persons  last  mentioned  several  who  were 
born  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  arc  natives  of  other  fo- 
reign countries,  and  who  at  the  time  of  their  appointment  had 
not  been  naturalized  by  Acts  of  the  British  Parliament;  that 
the  residence  of  one  of  these  persons  (Horatio  Gates)  in  this 
country  during  the  lost  war  with  the  United  States  was  only 
tolerated;  he  refused  to  take  up  arms  for  the  defence  of  the 
country  in  which  he  remained  merely  for  the  sake  of  lucre; 
and  aflcr  these  previous  facts,  took  his  seat  in  the  legislative 
council  on  the  16th  March,  1833 ;  and  flflcen  days  afterwards, 
to  wit,  on  the  1st  April,  voted  for  the  address  before-mentioned, 
censuring  those  who  during  the  last  war  were  under  arms  on 
the  frontiers  to  repulse  the  attacks  of  the  American  armies  and 
of  the  fellow-citizens  of  the  said  Horatio  Gates:  that  another 
(James  Baxter)  was  resident  during  the  said  late  war  within 
the  United  States,  and  was  bound  by  the  laws  of  the  country 
of  his  birth,  under  certain  circumstances,  forcibly  to  invade 
this  province,  to  pursue,  destroy,  and  capture,  if  possible,  his 
Majesty's  armies,  and  such  of  his  Canadian  subjects  as  were 
in  arms  upon  the  frontiers  to  repulse  the  attacks  of  the  Ame- 
rican armies,  and  of  the  said  James  Baxter,  who  (being  at  the 
said  time  but  slightly  qualified  as  far  as  property  is  concerned) 
became,  by  the  nomination  of  the  governor-in-chief,  a  legisla- 
tor for  life  in  Lower  Canada,  on  the  22d  of  March,  1833 ;  and 
eight  days  afterwards,  on  the  Ist  of  April  aforesaid,  voted  that 
very  address  which  contained  the  calumnious  and  insulting  ac- 
cusation which  called  for  the  expression  of  his  Majesty's  just 
regret,  "that  any  word  had  been  introduced  which  should  have 
the  appearance  of  ascribing  to  a  class  of  his  subjects  of  one 
origin,  views  at  variance  with  the  allegiance  which  they  owe 
to  his  Majesty." 

26.  Resolved,  That  it  was  in  the  power  of  the  present  go- 
vernor-in-chief, more  than  in  that  of  any  of  his  predecessors, 
(by  reason  of  the  latitude  allowed  him  as  to  the  number  and 
the  selection  of  the  persons  whom  he  might  nominate  to  be 
members  of  the  legislative  ccurcil,)  to  allay,  for  a  time  at 


Mi 


OF  CANADA. 


133 


least,  the  intestine  divisions  which  rend  this  colony,  and  to  ad- 
vance some  steps  towards  the  accomplishment  of  the  wishes  of 
Parliament,  by  inducing  a  community  of  interest  between  the 
said  council  and  the  people,  and  by  giving  the  former  a  more 
independent  character  by  judicious  nominations. 

27.  Resolved,  That  although  sixteen  persons  have  been  no- 
minated in  less  than  two  years  by  the  present  governor  to  be 
members  of  the  said  council,  (a  number  greater  than  that  af- 
forded by  any  period  of  ten  years  under  any  other  administra- 
tion,) and  notwithstanding  the  wishes  of  Parliament,  and  the 
instructions  given  by  his  Majesty's  government  for  the  removal 
of  the  grievances  of  which  the  people  had  complained,  the 
same  malign  influence  which  has  been  exerted  to  perpetuate 
in  the  country  a  system  of  irresponsibility  in  favour  of  public 
functionaries,  has  prevailed  to  such  an  extent  as  to  render  the 
majority  of  the  legislative  council  more  inimical  to  the  coun- 
try than  at  any  former  period;  and  that  this  fact  confirms  with 
irresistible  force  the  justice  of  the  censure  passed  by  the  com- 
mittee of  the  house  of  commons  on  the  constitution  of  the  le- 
gislative council  as  it  had  theretofore  existed,  and  the  correct- 
ness of  the  opinion  of  those  members  of  the  said  committee 
who  thought  that  the  said  body  could  never  command  the  re- 
spect of  the  people,  nor  be  in  harmony  with  the  house  of  as- 
sembly, unless  the  principle  of  election  was  introduced  into  it. 

28.  Resolved,  That  even  if  the  present  governor-in-chief 
had,  by  making  a  most  judicious  selection,  succeeded  in  qui- 
eting the  alarm  and  allaying  for  a  time  the  profound  discon- 
tent which  then  prevailed,  that  form  of  government  would  not 
be  less  essentially  vicious  which  makes  the  happiness  or  mise- 
ry of  a  country  depend  on  an  executive  over  which  the  people 
of  that  country  have  no  influence,  and  which  has  no  permanent 
interest  in  the  country,  or  in  common  with  its  inhabitants;  and 
that  the  extension  of  the  elective  principle  is  the  only  measure 
which  appears  to  this  house  to  afford  any  prospect  of  equal  and 
sufficient  protection  in  future  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  pro- 
vince without  distinction. 

29.  Resolved,  That  the  accusations  preferred  against  the 
house  of  assembly  by  the  legislative  council,  as  re-composed 
by  the  present  governor-in-chief,  would  be  criminal  and  sedi- 


1.  ■ ' 


i* 


1  ',> 


I:   » 


I 


j\  IN 


■fif 


■  I 


124 


THE  BUBBLES 


tious,  if  their  very  nature  did  not  render  them  harmless,  since 
they  go  to  assert,  that  if  in  its  liberality  and  justice  the  par- 
liament of  the  United  Kingdom  had  granted  the  earnest  prayer 
of  this  house  in  behalf  of  the  province  (and  which  this  house 
at  this  solemn  moment,  after  weighing  the  despatches  of  the 
secretary  of  state  for  the  colonial  department,  and  on  the  eve 
of  a  general  election,  now  repeats  and  renews,)  that  the  con- 
stitution of  the  legislative  council  may  be  altered  by  rendering 
it  elective,  the  result  of  this  act  of  justice  and  benevolence 
would  have  been  to  inundate  the  country  with  blood. 

30.  Resolved,  That  by  the  said  address  to  his  Majesty,  dated 
the  1st  of  April  last,  the  legislative  council  charges  this  house 
with  having  calumniously  accused  the  King's  representative 
of  partiality  and  injustice  in  the  exercise  of  the  powers  of  his 
office,  and  with  deliberately  calumniating  his  Majesty's  officers, 
both  civil  and  military,  as  a  faction  Induced  by  interest  alone 
to  contend  for  the  support  of  a  government  inimical  to  the  rights 
and  opposed  to  the  wishes  of  the  people :  with  reference  to 
which  this  house  declares  that  tlie  accusations  preferred  by  it 
have  never  been  calumnious,  but  are  true  and  well  founded, 
aud  that  a  faithful  picture  of  the  executive  government  of  this 
province  in  all  its  parts  is  drawn  by  the  legislative  council  in 
this  passage  of  its  address. 

31.  Resolved,  That  if,  as  this  house  is  fond  of  believing  hi:< 
Majesty's  government  in  England  docs  not  wish  systematically 
to  nourish  civil  discord  in  this  colony,  the  contradictory  alle- 
gations thus  made  by  the  two  houses  make  it  imperative  on  it 
to  become  better  acquainted  with  the  state  of  the  province 
than  it  now  appears  to  be,  if  we  judge  from  its  long  tolerance 
of  the  abuses  which  its  agents  commit  with  impunity;  that  it 
ought  not  to  trust  to  the  self-praise  of  those  who  have  the 
management  of  the  affiairs  of  a  colony,  passing  according  to 
them  into  a  state  of  anarchy ;  that  it  ought  to  be  convinced  that 
if  its  protection  of  public  functionaries,  accused  by  a  competent 
authority  (that  is  to  say  by  this  house,  in  the  name  of  the  peo- 
ple,) could  for  a  time,  by  force  and  intimidation,  aggravate,  in 
favour  of  those  functionaries  and  against  the  rights  and  inte- 
rests of  the  people,  the  system  of  insult  and  oppression  which 
they  impatiently  bear,  the  result  must  be  to  weaken  our  con* 


OF  OAITADA. 


135 


fidence  in,  and  our  attachment  to  his  Majesty's  government, 
and  to  give  deep  root  to  the  discontent  and  insurmountable 
disgust  which  have  been  excited  by  administrations  deplorably 
vicious,  and  which  are  now  fxcited  by  the  majority  of  the 
public  functionaries  of  the  colony,  combined  as  a  faction,  and 
induced  by  interest  alone  to  contend  for  the  support  of  a  cor- 
rupt government,  inimical  to  the  rights  and  opposed  to  the 
wishes  of  the  people. 

32.  Resolved,  That  in  addition  to  its  wicked  and  calum- 
nious address  of  the  Ist  April,  1833,  the  legislative  council,  as 
recomposed  by  the  present  governor-in-chief,  h'as  proved  how 
little  community  of  interest  it  has  with  the  colony,  by  the  fact 
that  out  of  sixty-four  bills  which  were  sent  up  to  it,  twenty- 
eight  were  rejected  by  it,  or  amended  in  a  manner  contrary 
to  their  spirit  and  essence;  that  the  same  unanimity  which 
had  attended  the  passing  of  the  greater  part  of  these  bills  in 
the  assembly,  accompanied  their  rejection  by  the  legislative 
council,  and  that  an  opposition  so  violent  shows  clearly  that  the 
provincial  executive  and  the  council  of  its  choice,  in  league 
together  against  the  representative  body,  do  not,  or  will  not, 
consider  it  as  the  faithful  interpreter  and  the  equitable  judge 
of  the  wants  and  wishes  of  the  people,  nor  as  fit  to  propose 
laws  conformable  to  the  public  will ;  and  that  under  such  cir- 
cumstances it  would  have  been  the  duty  of  the  head  of  the  ex- 
ecutive to  appeal  to  the  people,  by  dissolving  the  provincial 
parliament,  had  there  been  any  analogy  between  the  institutions 
of  Qreat  Britain  and  those  of  this  province. 

33.  Resolved,  That  the  legislative  council,  as  recomposed 
by  the  present  governor-in-chief,  must  be  considered  as  im- 
bodying  the  sentiments  of  the  colonial  executive  government, 
and  that  from  the  moment  is  was  so  recomposed  the  two  au- 
thorities seem  to  have  bound  and  leagued  themselves  together 
for  the  purpose  of  proclaiming  principles  subversive  of  all  har- 
mony in  the  province,  and  of  governing  and  domineering'in  a 
spirit  of  blind  and  invidious  national  antipathy. 

34.  Resolved,  That  the  address  voted  unanimously  on  the 
1st  April,  1833,  by  the  legislative  council,  as  recomposed  by 
the  present  governor  in  chief,  was  concurred  in  by  the  honour- 
able the  chief  justice  of  the  province,  Jonathan  Sewell,  to  whom 


W'i' 


IK  i 


|i;  / 


If  rl 


U    I 


iS! 


'I 


'■ 


120 


THE  BUBBLES 


the  right  honourable  Lord  Viscount  Goderich,  in  his  deapatch, 
communicated  to  the  house  on  the  25th  November,  1831,  re- 
commended **  a  cautious  abstinence^*  from  all  proceedings  by 
which  he  might  be  involved  in  any  contention  of  a  party  nature ; 
by  John  Hale,  the  present  receiver-general,  who,  in  violation 
of  the  laws,  and  of  the  trust  reposed  in  him,  and  upon  illegal 
warrants  issued  by  the  governor,  has  paid  away  large  sums  of 
the  public  money,  without  any  regard  to  the  obedience  which 
is  always  due  to  the  law;  by  Sir  John  Caldwell,  baronet,  the 
late  receivcr*general,  a  peculator,  who  has  been  condemned 
to  pay  nearly  £100,000  to  reimburse  a  like  sum  levied  upon 
the  people  of  this  province,  and  grantadby  law  to  his  Majesty, 
his  heirs  and  successors,  for  the  public  use  of  the  province,  and 
for  the  support  of  his  Majesty's  government  therein,  and  who 
has  diverted  the  greater  part  of  the  said  sum  from  the  purposes 
to  which  it  was  destined,  and  appropriated  it  to  his  private 
use ;  by  Mathew  Bell,  a  grantee  of  the  crown,  who  has  been 
unduly  and  illegally  favoured  by  the  executive,  in  the  least 
of  the  forges  of  St.  Maurice,  in  the  grant  of  largo  tracts  of 
waste  lands,  and  in  the  lease  of  large  tracts  of  land  formerly 
belonging  to  the  order  of  Jesuits ;  by  John  Stewart,  an  exe- 
cutive  counsellor,  commissioner  of  the  Jesuits'  estates,  and  the 
incumbent  of  other  lucrative  offices:  all  of  whom  are  placed 
by  their  pecuniary  and  personal  interests,  under  the  influence 
of  the  executive;  and  by  the  honourable  Georp,c  MofTatt,  Peter 
M'Gill,  John  Molson,  Horatio  Gates,  Robert  2 )'  cs,  and  James 
Baxter,  all  of  whom,  as  well  as  those  before  mentioned,  were, 
with  two  exceptions,  born  out  of  the  country,  and  all  of  whom, 
except  one,  who  for  a  number  of  years  was  a  member  of  the 
assembly,  and  has  extensive  landed  property,  arc  but  slightly 
qualified  in  that  respect,  and  had  not  been  sufficiently  engaged 
in  public  life  to  afford  a  presumption  that  they  were  fit  to  per- 
form the  functions  of  legislators  for  life;  and  by  Antoine  Gas^ 
pard  Couillard,  the  only  native  of  the  country,  of  French  ori- 
gin, who  stooped  to  concur  in  the  address,  and  who  also  had 
never  been  engaged  in  public  life,  and  is  but  very  moderately 
qualified  with  respect  to  real  property,  and  who,  afler  his  ap- 
pointment to  the  council,  and  before  the  said  1st  of  April,  ren- 
dered himself  dependent  on  the  executive  by  soliciting  a  paltry 
and  subordinate  place  of  profit. 


ofl 


OF  CANADA. 


127 


espatch, 
831,  re- 
lings  by 
nature ; 
violation 
1  illegal 
suma  of 
0  which 
onct,  the 
ndemned 
led  upon 
Majesty, 
ince,  and 
and  who 
purposes 
s  private 
has  been 
the  lease 
tracts  ot 
formerly 
,  an  exe- 
a,  and  the 
re  placed 
influence 
ratt,  Peter 
ind  James 
led,  were, 
of  whom, 
ler  of  the 
it  slightly 
y engaged 
fit  to  per- 
toine  Gas- 
'rcnch  ori- 
also  had 
wderately 
ler  his  ap- 
April,  ren- 
ig  a  paltry 


^1 


35.  Resolved,  That  the  said  address,  voted  by  seven  coun- 
sellors, under  the  influence  of  the  present  head  of  the  execu- 
tive, and  by  five  others  of  his  appointment,  (one  only  of  the  six 
otiiers  who  voted  it,  the  Honourable  George  Mofiatt,  having 
been  appointed  under  his  predecessor)  is  the  work  of  the  pre- 
Hont  adininistration  of  this  province,  the  expression  of  its  sen- 
timents, the  key  to  its  acts,  and  the  proclamation  of  the  ini- 
quitious  and  arbitrary  principles,  which  are  to  form  its  rule  of 
conduct  for  the  future. 

30.  Resolved,  That  the  said  address  is  not  less  injurious  to 
the  small  number  of  members  of  the  legislative  council  who 
are  independent,  and  attached  to  the  interests  and  honour  of 
the  country,  who  had  been  members  of  the  Assembly,  and  are 
known  as  having  partaken  its  opinions  and  seconded  its  ef- 
forts, to  obtain  fur  it  the  entire  control  and  disposal  of  the  pub- 
lic revenue;  as  having  approved  the  wholesome,  constitutional, 
und  not,  as  styled  by  the  council,  the  daring  steps  taken  by  this 
house  of  praying  by  address  to  his  Majesty  that  the  legislative 
council  might  be  rendered  elective;  as  condemning  a  scheme  for 
the  creation  of  an  e.xtcnsive  monopoly  of  lands  in  favour  of  specu- 
lators residing  out  of  the  country;  as  believing  that  they  could 
not  have  been  appointed  to  the  council  with  a  view  to  increase 
the  constitutional  weight  and  efficacy  of  that  body,  in  which 
they  find  themselves  opposed  to  a  majority  hostile  to  their  prin- 
ciples and  their  country ;  as  believing  that  the  interests  and 
wishes  of  the  people  are  faithfully  represented  by  their  repre- 
sentatives, and  that  the  connexion  between  this  country  and 
the  parent  state  will  be  durable  in  proportion  to  the  direct  in- 
fluence exercised  by  the  people  in  the  enactment  of  laws 
adapted  to  ensure  their  welfare ;  and  as  being  of  opinion,  that 
his  Majesty's  subjects  recently  settled  in  this  country  will 
share  in  all  the  advantages  of  the  free  institutions  and  of  the 
improvements  which  would  be  rapidly  developed  if,  by  means 
of  the  extension  of  the  elective  system,  the  administration  were 
prevented  from  creating  a  monopoly  of  power  and  profit  in  fa- 
vour of  the  minority  who  are  of  one  origin,  and  to  the  preju- 
dice of  the  majority,  who  are  of  another,  and  from  buying,  cor- 
rupting, and  exciting  a  portion  of  this  minority  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  give  to  all  discussions  of  local  interest  the  alarming 
character  of  strife  and  naftional  antipathy;  and  that  the  inde- 


' 


128 


TUB  BUBBLES 


pendent  members  of  the  legiBlative  council,  indubitably  con* 
vinced  of  the  tendency  of  that  body,  and  undeceived  as  to  the 
motives  which  led  to  the'r  appointment  as  members  of  it,  now 
refrain  from  attending  the  sittings  of  the  said  council,  in  which 
they  despair  of  being  able  to  effect  any  thing  for  the  good  of 
the  country. 

87.  Resolved,  That  the  political  world  in  Europe  is  at  this 
moment  agitated  by  two  great  parties,  who  in  different  coun* 
tries  appear  under  the  sovoral  names  of  scrviles,  royalists,  to* 
ries  and  conservatives  on  the  one  side,  and  of  liberals,  coneti* 
^utionals,  republicans,  whigs,  reformers,  radicals  and  similar 
appellations  on  the  other;  that  the  former  party  is,  on  this  con* 
tinent,  without  any  weight  or  influence  except  what  it  derives 
from  its  European  supporters,  and  from  a  trifling  number  of 
persons  who  become  their  dependents  for  the  sake  of  personal 
gain,  and  from  others,  who  from  oge  or  habit  cling  to  opinions 
which  are  not  partaken  by  any  numerous  class;  whilo  those* 
cond  party  overspreads  all  America.  And  that  the  colonial 
secretary  is  mistaken  if  he  believes  that  the  exclusion  of  a  few 
salaried  ofl!icers  from  the  legislative  council  could  suffice  to 
make  it  harmonize  with  the  wants,  wishes  and  opinions  of  the 
people,  OB  long  as  the  colonial  governors  retain  the  power 
of  preserving  in  it  a  majority  of  members  rendered  servile  by 
their  antipathy  to  every  liberal  idea. 

38.  Resolved,  That  this  vicious  system,  which  has  been 
carefully  maintained,  has  given  to  the  legislative  council  a 
greater  character  of  animosity  to  the  country  than  it  had  at  any 
former  period,  and  is  as  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  parliament, 
as  that  which,  in  order  to  resist  the  wishes  of  the  people  of 
England  for  the  parliamentary  reform,  should  have  called  into 
the  House  of  Lords  a  number  of  men  notorious  for  their  fac- 
tious and  violent  opposition  to  that  great  measure. 

39.  Resolved,  That  the  legislative  council,  representing 
merely  the  personal  opinions  of  certain  members  of  a  body  so 
strongly  accused  at  a  recent  period  by  the  people  of  this  pro* 
vince,  and  so  justly  censured  by  the  report  of  the  committee  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  is  not  an  authority  competent  to  dc* 
mand  alterations  in  the  constitutional  Act  of  the  dlst  Geo.  3, 
c.  31,  and  that  the  said  act  ought  not  to  be  and  cannot  be  al- 
tered, except  at  such  time  and  in  such  manner  as  may  be  wished 


OF  CA!«ADA. 


lt>5» 


6y  the  pooplo  of  this  province,  whoso  scntimonta  thia  houso  is 
ulono  compotont  to  rnprcsont;  that  no  intcrforonco  on  the  part 
of  tho  Britinh  Icgislntiiro  with  tho  laws  nnd  coimtitution  of  thiH 
province,  which  should  not  be  founded  on  tho  wislics  of  the 
people,  freely  expressed  either  through  this  house,  or  in  any 
other  constitutional  manner,  could  in  nny  wIho  tend  to  settle 
any  of  tho  ditficultics  wh  -h  exist  in  this  pro<'incc,  but,  on  the 
oontrnry,  would  only  iig  ravato  thcni  and  prolong  their  con- 
tinuance. 

40.  Resolved,  That  this  house  expects  from  the  justice  of  the 
parliament  of  the  United  Kingdom,  that  no  measure  of  the  na- 
ture aforesaid,  founded  on  the  false  representations  of  tho  legis- 
lative council  nnd  of  tho  members  and  tools  of  the  colonial  ad- 
ministration, all  interested  in  perpetuating  existing  abuses,  will 
be  adopted  to  tho  prejudice  of  tho  rights,  liberties,  and  welfare 
of  the  poopluof  this  province;  but  that  on  tho  contrary,  the  Im- 
perial Logislatnro  will  comply  with  the  wishes  of  the  people 
and  of  this  house,  and  will  provide  the  most  effectual  remedy 
tor  all  evils  present  and  future,  either  by  rendering  the  legis- 
lative council  elective,  in  the  manner  mentioned  in  the  Address 
of  this  houso  to  his  most  gracious  Maj^siy,  of  the  20th  March, 
1833,  or  by  enabling  the  people  to  express  still  more  directly 
their  opinions  as  to  the  measures  to  be  adopted  in  that  behalf, 
and  with  regard  to  such  other  moditicalions  of  the  constitution 
as  tho  wants  of  tho  people  and  the  interest  of  his  Majesty's  go- 
vernment in  tho  province  may  require;  and  that  this  house 
perseveres  in  tho  said  Address. 

41.  Resolved,  That  his  Mojest;,  's  secretary  of  state  for  the 
colonial  department  has  acknowledged  in  his  despatches,  that 
it  has  frequently  been  admitted  that  the  people  of  Canada 
ought  to  see  nothing  in  the  institutions  of  the  neighbouring 
states  which  they  could  regard  with  envy,  and  that  he  has  yet 
to  learn  that  any  such  feeling  now  exists  among  his  Majesty's 
subjects  in  Canada:  to  which  this  house  answers,  that  the 
neighbouring  States  have  a  form  of  government  very  fit  to  pre- 
vent abuses  of  power,  and  very  cfTective  in  repressing  them ; 
that  the  reverse  of  this  order  of  things  has  always  prevailed  in 
Canada  under  the  present  form  of  government;  that  there  ex- 
ists in  the  neighbouring  States  a  stronger  and  more  general  at- 
tachment to  the  national  inetitutions  tlian  in  any  other  coun- 
13 


,1    : 


It' 

I! '      J, 


I 


I*' 


,t   t 


! 


130 


THE  BUBBLES 


try,  and  that  there  exists  also  in  those  States  a  guarantee  for 
the  progressive  advance  of  their  political  institutions  towards 
perfection  in  the  revision  of  the  same  at  short  and  determinate 
intervals,  by  conventions  of  the  people,  in  order  that  they  may, 
without  any  shock  or  violence,  be  adapted  to  the  actual  state 
of  things. 

42.  Resolved,  That  it  was  in  consequence  of  a  correct  idea 
of  the  state  of  the  country  and  of  society  generally  in  Ameri- 
ca, that  the  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  asked,  whe- 
ther there  was  not  in  the  two  Canadas  a  growing  inclination 
to  see  the  institutions  become  more  and  more  popular,  and  in 
that  respect  more  and  more  like  those  of  the  United  States; 
and  that  John  Neilson,  Esq.,  one  of  the  agents  sent  from  this 
country,  answered,  that  the  fondness  for  popular  institutions 
had  made  great  progress  in  the  two  Canadas ;  and  that  the 
same  agent  was  asked,  whether  iie  did  not  think  that  it  would 
be  wise  that  the  object  of  every  change  made  in  the  institu- 
tions of  the  province  should  be  to  comply  more  and  more  with 
the  wishes  of  the  people,  and  to  render  the  said  institutions  ex- 
tremely popular:  to  which  question  this  house,  for  and  in  the 
name  of  the  people  whom  it  represents,  answers,  solemnly  and 
deliberately,  "  Yes,  it  would  be  wise;  it  would  be  excellent." 

43.  Resolved,  That  the  constitution  and  form  of  govern- 
ment which  would  best  suit  this  colony  are  not  to  be  sought 
solely  in  the  analogies  offered  by  the  institutions  of  Great  Bri- 
tain, where  the  state  of  society  is  altogether  different  from 
our  own ;  and  that  it  would  be  wise  to  turn  to  profit  by  the  in- 
formation to  be  gained  by  observing  the  effects  produced  by  the 
different  and  infinitely  varied  constitutions  which  the  kings 
and  parliament  of  England  have  granted  to  the  several  planta- 
tions and  colonies  in  America,  and  by  studying  the  way  in 
which  virtuous  and  enlightened  men  have  modified  such  colo- 
nial institutions,  when  it  could  be  done  with  the  assent  of  the 
parties  interested. 

44.  Resolved,  that  the  unanimous  consent  with  which  all 
the  American  states  have  adopted  and  extended  the  elective 
system,  shows  that  it  is  adapted  to  the  wishes,  manners,  and 
social  state  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  continent;  that  this  sys- 
tem prevails  equally  among  those  of  British  and  those  of  Spa- 


OF  CANADA. 


131 


nieii  origin,  altiiough  tlic  latter,  during  the  continuance  of  their 
colonial  state  had  been  under  the  calamitous  yoke  of  ignorance 
and  absolutism ;  and  that  we  do  not  hesitate  to  ask  from  a 
prince  of  the  House  of  Brunswick,  and  a  reformed  Parliament, 
all  the  freedom  and  political  powers  which  the  princes  of  the 
House  of  Stuart  and  their  parliaments  granted  to  the  most  fa- 
voured of  the  plantations  formed  at  a  period  when  such  grants 
must  have  been  less  favourably  regarded  than  thoy  would  now 
bo. 

45.  Resolved,  Tliat  it  was  not  the  bast  and  most  free  sys- 
tems of  colonial  government  which  tended  most  to  hasten  the 
independence  of  the  old  English  colonies;  since  the  province 
of  New  York,  in  which  the  institutions  were  most  monarchical 
in  the  sr-nso  which  that  word  appears  to  bear  in  the  despatch 
of  ihe  colonial  secretary,  was  the  first  to  refuse  obedience  to 
an  act  of  the  Pariiamont  of  Great  Britain:  and  that  the  colo- 
nies of  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island,  which,  though  closely 
and  afTectionutcly  connected  with  the  mother  country  for  a 
long  course  of  years,  enjoyed  constitutions  purely  democratic, 
were  the  last  to  enter  into  a  confederation  rendered  necessary 
by  the  conduct  of  bad  servants  of  the  Crown,  who  called  in  the 
supreme  authority  of  the  parliament  and  the  British  constitu- 
tion to  aid  them  to  govern  arbitrarily,  listening  rather  to  the 
governors  and  their  advisers  than  to  the  people  and  their  re- 
presentatives, and  shielding  with  their  protection  those  who 
consumed  the  faxes  rather  than  tliose  who  paid  them. 

46.  Resolved,  Tliat  with  a  view  to  the  introduction  of  what- 
ever the  institutions  of  the  neighbouring  States  offered  that 
was  good  and  applicable  to  tiie  state  of  the  province,  this  house 
had  among  other  measures  passed  during  many  years,  a  bill 
founded  on  the  principle  of  proportioning  arithmetically  the 
number  of  representatives  to  the  populace  of  each  place  re- 
presented; and  that  if,  by  the  pressure  of  circumstances  and 
the  urgent  necessity  which  existed  that  the  number  of  repre- 
sentatives should  be  increased,  it  has  been  compelled  to  assent 
to  amendments  which  violate  that  principle,  by  giving  to  coun- 
ties containing  a  population  of  little  more  than  4,000  souls, 
the  same  number  of  representatives  ns  to  several  others  of 
which  the  population  is  five  times  as  great,  this  disproportion 


fel-    'i 


1 


nil 


":f! 


(< 


1^, 

#1=1 

i 


III' 

m 


:j 


m 


it  I 


4. 


'hi 


w 


132 


THE  EUBBLKS 


is,  in  the  opinion  of  this  house,  an  act  of  injustice,  for  which 
it  ought  to  seek  a  remedy:  and  that  in  new  countries  where 
the  population  increases  rapidly,  and  tends  to  create  new  set- 
tlements, it  is  wise  and  equitable  that  by  a  frequent  and  peri- 
odical census,  such  increase  and  the  manner  in  which  it  is  dis- 
tributed should  be  ascertained,  principally  for  tlic  purpose  of 
settling  the  representation  of  the  province  on  un  equitable 
basis. 

47.  Resolved,  Tiutt  the  fidelity  of  the  people  and  the  pro- 
lection  of  the  government  arc  co-relative  obligations  of  which 
the  one  cannot  long  subsist  without  the  other;  lliat  by  rea- 
son of  the  defects  whicii  exist  in  the  laws  and  constitution  of 
this  province,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  those  laws  and  that 
constitution  have  been  administered,  the  people  of  this  pro- 
vince are  not  sufficiently  protected  in  their  lives,  tiicir  proper- 
ty, and  their  honour  ;  and  that  the  long  series  of  acts  of  in- 
justice and  oppression  of  which  they  have  to  coniphiin,  have 
increased  with  alarming  rapidity  in  violence  and  in  number 
under  the  present  administration. 

48.  Resolved,  Tiiat  in  tiie  midst  of  these  disorders  and  suf- 
ferings, this  house  and  the  people  whom  it  represents,  had  al- 
ways cherished  the  liope  and  expressed  tlieir  fuith  that  his 
Majesty's  government  in  England  did  not  knowingly  and  wil- 
fully participate  in  the  political  immorality  of  its  colonial 
ngents  and  officers;  and  that  it  is  with  astonislnncnt  and  grief 
liiaL  tliey  have  seen  in  the  extract  from  tiie  defpatciies  of  the 
colonial  secretary,  communicated  to  this  house  by  tlie  govcr- 
iior-in-ciiief,  during  tlie  present  session,  that  one  at  least  of  the 
members  of  his  Majesty's  government  entertains  towards  them 
feelings  of  prejudice  and  animosity,and  inclines  to  favour  plans 
of  oppression  and  revenge,  ill  adapted  to  change  a  system  of 
abuses,  the  continuance  of  whicli  would  altogether  discourajje 
the  people,  extinguish  in  them  the  legitimate  hope  of  happi- 
ness which,  as  British  subjects,  they  entertained,  and  would 
leave  them  only  the  hard  alternative  of  submitting  to  an  ig- 
nominious bondage,  or  of  seeing  those  ties  endangered  which 
unite  them  to  the  mother  country. 

49.  Resolved,  That  this  house  and  the  people,  whom  it  repre- 
sents, do  not  wisher  intend  to  convey  any  threat;  but  that,  rely- 


OF  CANADA. 


133 


ing,  as  tlmy  do,  upon  the  principles  of  law  and  justice,  they  are, 
and  ought  to  be,  politically  strong  enough  not  to  be  exposed  to 
receive  insult  from  any  man  whomsoever, or  bound  to  suffer  it  in 
silence;  that  the  style  of  the  said  extracts  from  the  despatches 
of  the  colonial  secretary,  as  communicated  to  this  house,  is  in- 
sulting and  inconsiderate  to  such  a  degree  that  no  legally  con- 
stituted body,  although  its  functions  were  infinitely  subordinate 
to  those  of  legislation,  could  or  ought  to  tolerate  them;  that  no 
similar  example  can  be  found,  even  in  the  despatches  of  those 
of  his  predecessors  in  office,  least  favourable  to  the  rights  of 
the  colonies;  that  the  tenor  of  the  said  despatches  is  incom- 
patible with  the  rights  and  privileges  of  this  house,  which 
ought  not  to  be  called  in  question  or  defined  by  the  colonial 
secretary,  but  which,  ns  occasion  may  require,  will  be  succes- 
sively promulgated  and  enforced  by  this  house. 

50.  Resolved,  That  with  regard  to  the  following  expressions 
in  one  of  the  said  despatches,  "Should  events  unhappily  force 
upon  parliament  the  exercise  of  its  supreme  authority,  to  com- 
pose the  internal  dissensions  of  the  colonies,  it  would  be  my 
object  and  my  duty,  ns  a  servant  of  the  crown,  to  submit  to 
parliament  such  modificjtions  of  the  charter  of  the  Canadas  as 
should  tend,  not  to  the  introduction  of  institutions  consistent 
with  monarchical  government,  but  to  maintaining  and  strength- 
ening the  connexion  with  the  mother  country,  by  a  close  ad- 
herence to  the  spirit  of  the  British  constitution,  and  by  pre- 
serving in  their  proper  place  and  within  their  due  limits  the 
mutual  rights  and  privileges  of  all  classes  of  his  Majesty's 
subjects:" — if  they  are  to  be  understood  as  containing  a  threat 
to  introduce  into  the  constitution  any  other  modifications  than 
such  as  are  asked  for  by  the  majority  of  the  people  of  this 
province,  whose  sentiments  cannot  be  legitimately  expressed 
by  any  other  authority  than  its  representatives,'  this  house 
would  esteem  itself  wanting  in  candour  to  the  people  of  Eng- 
land, if  it  hesitated  to  call  their  attention  to  the  fact,  that  in 
less  than  twenty  years  the  population  of  the  United  States  of 
America  will  be  ns  groat  or  greater  than  that  of  Great  Britain, 
and  that  of  British  America  will  be  as  great  or  greater  than 
that  of  the  former  English  colonies  was  when,  the  latter 
deemed  that  the  time  was  come  to  decide  that  the  inapprecia- 

12* 


i.. 

^'i : 


m  I 


i  ;(■ 


134 


THE  BUBBLES 


Uf 


II 


ble  advantage  of  governing  themselves  instead  of  being  go- 
verned, ought  to  engage  them  to  repudiate  a  system  of  colo< 
nial  government  which  was,  generally  speaking,  mucii  better 
than  that  of  British  America  now  is. 

51.  Resolved,  That  the  approbation  expressed  by  the  colo- 
nial secretary,  in  his  said  despatch,  of  tiie  present  composition 
of  the  legislative  council,  whose  acts,  since  its  pretended  re- 
form, have  been  marked  by  party  spirit  and  by  invidious  na- 
tional distinctions  and  preferences,  is  a  subject  of  just  alarm  to 
iiis  Majesty's  Canadian  subjects  in  general,  and  more  particu- 
larly to  the  great  majority  of  thcni,  who  have  not  yielded  at 
any  time  to  any  other  class  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  province 
in  their  attachment  to  his  Majesty's  government,  in  tiicir  love 
of  peace  and  order,  in  respect  for  the  laws,  and  in  tlieir  wish 
to  eftbct  that  union  amonnf  the  wiiole  people  whicli  is  so  much 
to  be  desired,  to  llie  end  that  all  may  enjoy  freely  and  equally 
the  rights  and  advantages  of  British  subjcotp,  and  of  the  insti- 
tutions which  have  been  guarantied  to,  and  are  dear  to  the 
country  ;  that  the  distinctions  and  preferences  aforesaid  have 
almost  constantly  been  used  and  taken  advantage  of  by  the  co- 
lonial administration  of  this  province,  and  tlio  nwjority  of  the 
legislative  counsellors,  executive  counsellor.-',  judges,  and 
other  functionaries  depoiidcnl  upon  it;  and  that  notiiing  but 
ilie  spirit  of  the  union  among  the  several  clussosof  tlie  people, 
and  their  conviction  that  their  interests  are  the  same,  could 
have  prevented  collisions  incompatible  with  the  prosperity 
and  safety  of  the  province. 

52.  Resolved,  That  since  a  circumstance,  which  did  not 
depend  upon  the  choice  of  the  majority  of  the  people,  their 
French  origin  and  their  use  of  the  French  language,  has  been 
made  by  the  colonial  authorities  a  pretext  for  abuse,  for  exclu- 
L-ion,  for  political  inferiority,  for  a  separation  of  rights  and  in- 
terests; this  house  now  appeals  to  the  justice  of  his  Majesty's 
government  and  of  parliament  and  to  the  honour  of  the  people 
of  England;  that  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  tliis  coun- 
try are  in  nowise  disposed  to  repudiate  any  one  of  the  advan- 
tages they  derive  from  their  origin  and  from  their  descent 
from  the  French  nation,  which,  with  regard  to  the  progress, 
of  which  it  has  been  the  cause,  in  civilization,  in  the  sciences^ 


OF  CANADA. 


135 


in  letters,  and  in  the  arta,  has  never  been  behind  the  British 
nation,  and  is  now  the  worthy  rival  of  the  latter  in  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  cause  of  liberty  and  of  the  science  of  govern- 
ment ;  from  which  this  country  derives  the  greater  portion  of 
its  civil  and  ecclesiastical  law,  and  of  its  scholastic  and  chari- 
table institutions,  and  of  the  religion,  language,  habits,  man- 
ners, and  customs  of  the  great  majority  of  its  inhabitants. 

5Q.  Resolved,  That  our  fellow-subjects  of  British  origin,  in 
this  province,  came  to  settle  themselves  in  a  country,  "  the  in- 
liabitants  whereof,  professing  the  religion  of  the  church  of 
Rome,  enjoyed  an  established  form  of  constitution  and  system 
of  laws,  by  wliich  their  persons  and  their  property  had  been 
protected,  governed,  and  ordered  during  a  long  series  of 
years,  from  the  first  establishment  of  the  province  of  Canada;" 
that  prompted  by  these  considerations  and  guided  by  the  rules 
of  justice  and  of  the  law  of  nations,  llie  British  parliament 
enacted  that,  "  in  all  matters  of  controversy,  relative  to  pro- 
perty and  civil  rights,  resort  should  be  had  to  the  laws  of  Ca- 
nada;" that  when  parliament  afterwards  departed  from  the 
l)rinciple  thus  recognised,  firstly,  by  the  introduction  of  the  Eng- 
lish criminal  law,  and  afterwards  by  that  of  the  representative 
system,  with  all  the  constitution  and  parliamentary  law  neces- 
sary to  its  perfect  action,  it  did  so  in  conformity  to  tlie  suffi- 
ciently expressed  wish  of  the  Canadian  people;  and  tliat  every 
attempt  on  the  part  of  public  funetioniries  or  of  other  persons 
(who  on  coming  to  settle  in  the  province,  made  their  condi- 
tion their  own  voluntary  act)  against  the  existence  of  any  por- 
tion of  the  laws  and  institutions  peculiar  to  the  country,  and 
any  preponderance  given  to  sucli  persons  in  the  legislative  and 
executive  councils,  in  the  courts  of  law,  or  in  other  depart- 
ments, are  contrary  to  the  engagements  of  the  British  parlia- 
ments and  to  the  rights  guarantied  to  his  Majesty^s  Canadian 
subjects?,  on  the  faith  of  the  national  honour  of  England  on  that 
of  capitulations  and  treaties. 

54.  Resolved,  Tliat  any  combination,  whether  effected  by 
means  of  acts  of  the  British  parliament,  obtained  in  contraven- 
tion to  its  former  engagements,  or  by  means  of  tiie  partial  and 
corrupt  administration  of  the  present  constitution  and  system  of 
law,  would  be  a  violation  of  those  rights,  and  would,  as  long 


"  ;  » 


W  9, 


1 


13G 


THE  BUBBLES 


as  it  Bhoiild  exist,  be  obeyed  by  the  people,  from  motives  of  fear 
and  constraint,  and  not  from  choice  and  affection ;  that  the  con- 
duct of  the  colonial  administrations,  and  of  their  agents  and  in- 
struments in  this  colony,  has,  for  the  most  part,  been  of  a  na- 
ture unjustly  to  create  apprehensions  as  to  the  views  of  the 
people  and  government  of  the  mother  country,  and  to  en- 
danger the  confidence  and  content  of  the  inhabitants  of  this 
province,  which  can  only  be  secured  by  equal  laws,  and  by  the 
observance  of  equal  justice,  as  the  rule  of  conduct  in  all  the 
departments  of  the  government. 

56.  Resolved,  That  whether  the  number  of  that  class  of  his 
Majesty's  subjects  in  this  province,  who  are  of  British  origin, 
be  that  mentioned  in  the  said  address  of  the  legislative  coun- 
cil, or  whether  (as  the  truth  is)  it  amounts  to  less  than  half 
that  number,  the  wishes  and  interests  of  the  great  majority 
of  them  are  common  to  them  and  to  their  fellow-subjects  of 
French  origin,  and  speaking  the  French  language;  that  the 
one  class  love  the  country  of  their  birth,  the  other  that  of  their 
adoption;  ♦hat  the  greater  portion  of  tiie  latter  have  acknow- 
ledged tlic  generally  bcneficiul  tendency  of  the  laws  and  insti- 
tutions of  the  country,  and  have  laboured  in  concert  with  the 
former  to  introduce  into  them  gradually,  and  by  the  authority 
of  the  provincial  parliament,  the  improvements  of  which  they 
have,  from  time  to  time,  appeared  susceptible,  and  have  resist- 
ed the  confusion  which  it  has  been  endeavoured  to  introduce 
into  them,  in  favour  of  schemes  of  monopoly  and  abuse,  and 
that  all  without  distinction  wish  anxiously  for  an  impartial  and 
protecting  government. 

r)6.  Resolved,  That  in  addition  to  administrative  and  judi- 
cial abuses,  which  have  had  an  injurious  eftect  upon  the  public 
welfare  and  confidence,  attempts  have  been  made,  from  lime 
to  time,  to  induce  the  parliament  of  the  United  Kingdom,  by  de- 
ceiving its  justice  and  abusing  its  benevolent  intentions,  to  adopt 
measures  calculated  to  bring  about  combinations  of  the  nature 
above  mentioned,  and  to  pass  acts  of  internal  legislation  for  this 
province,  having  the  same  tendency,  and  with  regard  to  which, 
the  people  of  the  country  had  not  been  consulted ;  that,  unhap- 
pily, the  attempts  to  obtain  the  passing  of  some  of  these  mea- 
sures were  successful,  especially  that  of  the  act  of  the  6  Geo. 


I 


OF  CANADA. 


137 


4,  c.  59,  commonly  called  the  "  Tenures  Act,"  the  repeal  of 
which  was  unanimously  demanded  by  ail  classes  of  the  people, 
without  distinction,  througli  their  representatives,  a  very  short 
time  afler  the  number  of  the  latter  was  increased;  and  that 
this  house  lias  not  yet  been  able  to  obtain  from  his  Majesty's 
representative  in  this  province,  or  from  any  other  source,  any 
information  os  to  the  views  of  his  Majesty's  government  in 
England,  with  regard  to  the  repeal  of  the  said  act. 

57.  Resolved,  That  the  object  of  the  said  act  was,  according- 
to  the  benevolent  intentions  of  parliament,  and  as  the  title  of 
the  act  sets  forth,  the  extinction  of  feudal  and  seigniorial  rights 
and  dues  on  land  held  enjie/'and  d  cens  in  this  province,  with 
the  intention  of  fnvouring^the  great  body  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
country,  and  protecting  them  against  liie  said  dues,  vvhicli  were 
regarded  as  burdensome;  but  that  the  provisions  of  the  said 
;ict,  far  from  having  the  effect  aforesaid,  afford  facilities  for 
seigniors  to  become,  in  opposition  to  the  interests  of  their  cen- 
situires,  the  absolute  proprietors  of  the  e.\tensive  tracts  of  un- 
conceded  lands  which,  by  the  law  of  the  country,  they  held 
only  for  the  benefit  of  the  inhabitants  thereof,  to  whom  they 
were  bound  to  concede  them  in  consideration  of  certain  limit- 
ed dues;  that  tlie  said  act,  if  generally  acted  upon,  would  shut 
out  the  mass  of  the  permanent  inliabitants  of  the  country  from 
the  vacant  lands  in  the  seigniories,  while,  at  the  same  time, 
they  have  been  constantly  prevented  from  settling  on  the  waste 
lands  of  the  crown  on  ea.sy  and  liberal  terms,  and  under  a  te- 
nure adapted  to  the  laws  of  the  country,  by  the  partial,  secret, 
and  vicious  manner  in  which  the  crown  land  department  hos 
been  managed,  and  the  provisions  of  the  act  aforesaid,  with  re- 
gard to  the  laws  applicable  to  the  lands  in  question;  and  that 
the  application  made  by  certain  seigniors  for  a  change  of 
tenure,  under  the  authority  of  the  said  act,  appear  to  prove  the 
correctness  of  the  viev/  this  house  has  taken  of  its  practical 
effect. 

58.  Resolved,  That  it  was  only  in  consequence  of  an  erro- 
neous supposition,  that  feudal  charges  were  inherent  in  the  law 
of  this  country,  os  far  as  the  possession  and  transmission  of 
real  property,  and  the  tenures  recognised  by  that  law,  were 
concerned,  that  it  was  enacted  ia  the  said  act  that  the  lands, 


■  '.  'j  lU 


ir'ij 


138 


THE  BUBBLES 


,1 


willi  regard  to  which  a  change  of  tenure  should  be  effected, 
should  thereafter  be  held  under  the  tenure  of  free  and  com- 
mon soccDge ;  that  the  seigniorial  charges  have  been  found 
burdensome  in  certain  cases,  chiefly  by  reason  of  the  want  of 
adequate  means  of  obtaining  the  interference  of  the  colonial 
government  and  of  the  courts  of  law,  to  enforce  the  ancient 
law  of  the  country  in  that  behalf,  and  that  tlie  provincial  legis- 
lature was,  moreover,  fully  competent  to  pass  laws,  providing 
for  the  redemption  of  the  said  charges  in  a  manner  which 
should  be  in  accordance  with  the  interests  of  all  parties,  and 
for  the  introduction  of  the  free  tenures  recognised  by  the  laws 
of  the  country ;  that  the  House  of  Assembly  has  been  repeat- 
edly occupied,  and  now  is  occupied  about  tliis  important  sub- 
ject; but  that  the  said  Tenures  Act,  insufficient  of  itself  to 
effect  equitably  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  passed,  is  of  a  na- 
ture to  embarrass  and  create  obstacles  to  the  effectual  mea- 
sures which  the  legislature  of  the  country,  with  a  full  know- 
ledge of  tiie  subject,  might  be  disposed  to  adopt;  and  that  the 
application  thus  made  (to  the  exclusion  of  the  provincial  legis- 
lature) to  the  parliament  of  the  United  Kingdom,  which  was 
far  less  competent  to  make  equitable  enactments  on  a  subject 
so  complicated  in  its  nature,  could  only  have  been  made  with 
a  view  to  unlawful  speculations  and  the  subversion  of  the  laws 
of  the  country. 

59.  Resolved,  That  independently  of  its  many  other  serious 
imperfections,  the  said  act  does  not  appear  to  have  been  found- 
ed on  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  laws  which  govern  persons 
and  property  in  this  country,  when  it  declares  the  laws  of 
Great  Britain  to  be  applicable  to  certain  incidents  to  real  pro- 
perty therein  enumerated;  and  that  it  has  only  served  to  aug- 
ment the  confusion  and  doubt  which  had  prevailed  in  the  courts 
of  law,  and  in  private  transactions  with  regard  to  the  law 
which  applied  to  lands  previously  granted  in  free  and  common 
soccage. 

60.  Resolved,  That  the  provision  of  the  said  act  which  has 
excited  the  greatest  alarm,  and  which  is  most  at  variance  with 
the  rights  of  the  people  of  the  country,  and  with  those  of  the 
provincial  parliament,  is  that  which  enacts  that  lands  pre- 
wously  held  en  fief  or  en  censine  shall,  after  a  change  of  te- 


or  CANADA. 


i3y 


iiurc  shall  have  been  cfTected  with  regard  to  them,  be  held  in 
free  and  common  soccage,  and  thereby  become  subject  to  the 
laws  of  Great  Britain,  under  the  several  circumstances  therein 
mentioned  and  enumerated ;  that  besides  being  insufficient  in 
itself,  this  provision  is  of  a  nature  to  bring  into  collision,  in 
the  old  settlements,  at  multiplied  points  of  contiguity,  two  op- 
posite systems  of  laws,  one  of  which  is  entirely  unknown  to 
this  country,  in  which  it  is  impossible  to  carry  it  into  effect; 
that  from  the  feeling  manifested  by  the  colonial  authorities 
and  their  partisans  towards  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  the 
latter  have  just  reason  to  fear  that  the  enactment  in  question 
is  only  the  prelude  to  the  final  subversion,  by  acts  of  parlia- 
ment of  Great  Britain,  fraudulently  obtained  in  violation  of  its 
former  engagements,  of  the  system  of  laws  by  which  the  per- 
sons and  property  of  the  people  of  this  province  were  so  long 
jjappily  governed. 

61.  Resolved,  That  the  inhabitants  of  this  country  have  just 
reason  to  fear  that  the  claims  made  to  the  property  of  the  se- 
minary of  St.  Sulpice,  at  Montreal,  are  attributable  to  the  de- 
sire of  the  colonial  administration,  and  its  agents  and  tools,  to 
hasten  this  deplorable  state  of  things;  and  that  his  Majesty's 
government  in  England  would,  by  reassuring  his  faithful  sub- 
jects on  this  point,  dissipate  the  alarm  felt  by  the  clergy,  and 
by  the  whole  people  without  distinction,  and  merit  their  sin- 
cere gratitude. 

02.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  this  house  to  persist  in 
asking  for  the  absolute  repeal  of  the  said  tenures  act,  and  until 
such  repeal  shall  be  effected,  to  propose  to  the  other  branches 
of  the  provincial  parliament  such  measures  as  may  be  adapted 
to  weaken  the  pernicious  effects  of  the  said  act. 

63.  Resolved,  That  this  house  has  learned  with  regret,  from 
one  of  the  said  despatches  of  the  colonial  secretary,  that  his 
Mojesty  has  been  advised  to  interfere  in  a  matter  which  con- 
cerns the  privileges  of  this  house:  that  in  the  case  there  al- 
luded to,  this  house  exercised  a  privilege  solemnly  established 
by  the  house  of  commons,  before  the  principle  on  which  it 
rests  became  the  law  of  the  land ;  that  this  privilege  is  essen- 
tial to  the  independence  of  this  house,  and  to  the  freedom  of 
its  votes  and  proceedings;  that  the  resolutions  passed  by  this 


I 


i7    I 


I 


1?      v.: 


i  11 


i'- 


t  I  > 


m 


i-!8 


'tis'  it' 


1*. 


.^!'^ 


140 


THE  DUHBLES 


'il 


house,  on  the  15th  of  February,  1831,  are  constitutional  and 
well  founded,  and  arc  supported  by  the  example  of  the  com- 
mons of  Great  Britoin;  that  this  house  has  repeatedly  passed 
bills  for  giving  eifect  to  the  said  principle,  but  that  these  bills 
failed  to  become  law,  at  first  from  the  obstacles  opposed  to 
them  in  another  branch  of  the  provincial  legislature,  and  sub- 
sequently by  reason  of  the  reservation  of  the  last  of  the  said 
bills  for  the  signification  of  his  Majesty's  pleasure  in  England, 
whence  it  has  not  yet  been  sent  back;  that  until  some  bill  to 
the  same  effect  shall  become  law,  this  house  persists  in  the 
said  resolutions;  and  that  the  refusal  of  his  excellency,  the  pre- 
sent governor-in-chief,  to  sign  a  writ  for  the  election  of  ii 
knight  representative  for  the  county  of  Montreal,  in  the  place 
of  Dominique  Mondelet,  Esq.,  whose  scat  had  been  declared 
vacant,  is  a  grievance  of  which  this  house  is  entitled  to  obtain 
the  redress,  and  one  which  would  alone  have  sufficed  to  put  an 
end  to  all  intercourse  between  it  and  the  colonial  executive, 
if  the  circumstances  of  the  country  had  not  olTercd  an  infinite 
number  of  other  abuses  and  grievances  against  which  it  is  ur- 
gently necessary  to  remonstrate. 

61.  Resolved,  Tliat  the  claims  which  have  for  many  years 
been  set  up  by  the  executive  government  to  that  control  over 
and  power  of  appropriating  a  great  portion  of  the  revenues  le- 
vied in  this  province,  which  belong  of  right  to  this  house,  arc 
contrary  to  the  rights  and  to  the  constitution  of  the  country; 
and  that  witli  regard  to  the  said  claims,  this  house  persists  in 
the  declarations  it  has  heretofore  made. 

65.  Resolved,  That  the  said  claims  of  the  executive  have 
been  vague  and  varying;  that  the  documents  relative  to  the 
said  claims,  and  the  accounts  and  estimates  of  expenses  laid 
before  this  house  have  likewise  been  varying  and  irregular, 
and  insufficient  to  enable  this  house  to  proceed  with  a  full  un- 
derstanding of  the  subject  on  the  matters  to  which  they  re- 
lated; that  important  heads  of  the  public  revenue  of  the  pro- 
vince, collected  either  under  tnc  provisions  of  the  law  or  under 
arbitrary  regulations  made  by  the  executive,  has  been  omitted 
in  the  said  accounts;  that  numerous  items  have  been  paid  out 
of  the  public  revenue  without  the  authority  of  this  house,  or 
any  acknowledgment  of  its  control  over  theiu,  as  salaries  for 


or  CANADA. 


141 


fiinecuro  offices,  which  aro  not  recognised  by  this  house,  and 
even  for  objects  fur  which,  aflcr  mature  deliberation,  it  had  not 
deemed  it  expedient  to  appropriate  any  portion  of  the  public 
revenue;  and  that  no  accounts  of  the  sums  so  expended  have 
been  laid  before  this  house. 

60.  Resolved,  That  the  executive  government  has  endea* 
voured,  by  means  of  tlio  arbitrary  regulations  aforesaid,  and 
particularly  by  the  sale  of  the  waste  lands  of  the  Crown,  and 
of  the  timber  on  the  same,  to  create  for  itself  out  of  the  reve* 
nue  which  this  house  only  has  the  right  of  appropriating,  re- 
sources independent  of  the  control  of  the  representatives  of  the 
people ;  and  that  the  rcBult  has  been  a  diminution  of  the  whole- 
some influence  which  the  people  have  constitutionally  the 
right  of  exorcising  over  the  administrative  branch  of  the  go- 
vernment, and  over  the  spirit  and  tendency  of  its  measures. 

07.  Resolved,  That  this  house  having,  from  time  to  time, 
with  a  view  to  proceed  by  bill,  to  restore  regularity  to  the 
tinancinl  system  of  the  province,  and  to  provide  for  the  ex- 
penses of  tlic  admini^'.ration  of  justice  and  of  his  Majesty's  ci- 
vil government  tliorein,  asked  the  provincial  government  by 
address  fi)r  divers  documents  and  accounts  relating  to  financial 
matters,  and  to  nI)U8Cs  connected  with  them,  has  met  with  re- 
peated rcfuBah.  more  especially  during  the  present  session  and 
the  preceding  one;  that  divers  subordinate  public  functionaries, 
summoned  to  appear  bnforo  committees  of  this  house  to  gi'.e 
information  on  tho  said  subject,  havo  refused  to  do  so  in  pur- 
suance of  the  said  claim  set  up  by  the  provincial  odministra- 
tions  to  withdraw  a  largo  portion  of  the  public  income  and 
expenditure  from  the  control  and  even  from  the  knowledge  of 
this  house;  that  during  the  present  session  one  of  the  said 
subordinate  functionaries  of  the  executive  being  called  upon  to 
produce  the  originals  of  sundry  registers  of  warrants  and  re- 
ports, which  it  was  important  to  this  house  to  cause  to  be  exa- 
mined, insisted  on  being  present  at  the  deliberations  of  the 
committee  appointed  by  the  house  for  that  purpose;  and  that 
the  head  of  the  administration  being  informed  of  the  fact,  re- 
frained from  interfering,  although  in  conformity  to  parliamen- 
tary usage,  this  house  had  pledged  itself  that  the  said  docu- 
13 


f" 


1 1 


' 


-(  ^1 


I  ■I'l 


i  *li 


JH 


I 


H 


142 


TlIK  DUIillLiilS 


ments  should  bo  returned,  mid  altlioii!;)i  the  govcrnor-in-chict' 
had  himself  promised  corimiiiiiicnlioti  of  thcin. 

68.  Resolved,  Tliat  the  result  of  iho  ticcrct  and  unlawful 
distribution  of  a  large  portion  of  the  public  revenue  of  tho  pro- 
vince has  boon,  tliat  tiic  executive  g-overnment  has  alwoys, 
except  with  regard  to  appropriations  tor  objects  of  a  local  na- 
ture, considered  itself  bound  to  account  for  tho  public  money 
to  the  lords  commissioners  of  the  treasury  in  England,  and  not 
to  this  house,  nor  according  to  its  votes,  or  even  in  conformity 
to  the  laws  passed  by  the  provincial  legislature ;  and  tliat  the 
accounts  and  statements  laid  before  this  houso  from  time  to 
lime  have  never  assumed  the  shape  of  a  regular  system  of  ba- 
lanced accounts,  but  have  been  drawn  up,  one  after  another, 
with  such  alterations  and  irregularities  as  it  pleased  the  admi- 
nistration of  the  duy  to  introduce  into  them,  from  the  accounts 
kept  with  the  lords  of  the  treasury,  in  which  the  whole  public 
money  received  was  included,  as  well  as  all  tho  items  of  ex- 
penditure, whether  authorized  or  unauthorized  by  the  provin- 
cial legislature. 

69.  Resolved,  That  the  pretensions  and  abuses  aforesaid 
have  taken  away  from  this  house  even  the  shadow  of  control 
over  the  public  revenue  of  tho  province,  and  have  rendered 
it  impossible  fur  it  to  ascertain  ut  any  time  the  amount  of 
revenue  collected,  the  disposable  amount  of  tho  same,  and 
the  sums  required  for  the  public  service;  and  that  tho  house 
having  during  many  years  passed  bills,  of  vviiich  tho  models  are 
to  bo  found  in  the  statute-book  of  Great  Britain,  to  establish  a 
regular  system  of  accountability  and  responsibility  in  the  de- 
partment connected  with  the  receipt  and  expenditure  of  the 
revenue;  these  bills  have  failed  in  the  legislative  council. 

70.  Resolved,  That  since  the  last  session  of  the  provincial 
parliament,  the  govcrnor-in-chicf  of  this  province,  and  the 
members  of  his  executive  government,  relying  on  the  preten- 
sions above-mentioned,  have,  without  any  lawful  authority, 
paid  large  sums  out  of  the  public  revenue,  subject  to  the  con- 
trol of  this  house;  and  that  the  said  sums  were  divided  accord- 
ing to  their  pleasure,  and  even  in  contradiction  to  the  votes 
of  this  house,  as  incorporated  in  the  supply  bill  passed  by  it 
during  the  last  session,  and  rejected  by  the  legislative  council. 


or  CANADA. 


143 


II 


71.  Resolved,  That  til  is  liouso  will  hold  rcspoMdiblo  for  all 
moneys  which  have  been,  or  may  hcreallcr  bo  paid,  olhcrwian 
than  under  tlic  authority  of  an  act  of  the  legislature,  or  upon 
an  addresH  of  tiiirf  house,  out  of  the  public  revenue  of  tho  pro- 
vince, all  those  who  may  have  authorized  sucii  payments,  or 
participated  therein,  until  tlio  paid  sums  shall  huvo  been  re- 
imbursed, or  a  bill  or  bills  of  indemnity  freely  passed  by  this 
liouBO  shall  have  become  1l\v. 

72.  Resolved,  That  tho  course  adopted  by  this  house  in  tho 
supply  bill,  passed  durinfj  tho  last  session,  of  attaching  certain 
conditions  to  certain  vote?,  fur  the  purpose  of  preventing  tho 
accumulation  of  incompatible  oflices  in  the  same  persons,  and 
of  obtaiiiiiif^  ['"a  redress  of  certain  abuses  and  grievances,  is 
wise  and  constitutional,  and  has  frequently  been  adopted  by 
tho  house  of  commonp,  under  analogoun  circumstances:  and 
that  if  tho  commons  of  England  do  not  now  so  frequently  recur 
to  it,  it  is  because  they  have  happily  obtained  the  entire  control 
of  tho  revenue  of  tho  nation,  and  because  respect  shown  to 
their  opinions  with  regard  to  tho  redress  of  grievances  and 
abuses,  by  the  other  constituted  authorities,  haa  regulated  the 
working  of  tho  constitution  in  a  manner  equally  adapted  to 
give  stability  to  his  Majesty's  govo»*rment,  and  to  protect  the 
interests  of  the  people. 

lii.  Resolved,  That  it  wag  anciently  tho  practice  of  tho 
House  of  Commons  to  withhold  supplies  until  grievances  were 
redressed;  and  that  in  following  this  course  in  the  present  con- 
juncture, we  are  warranted  in  our  proceeding,  as  well  by  the 
most  approved  precedents,  as  by  tho  spirit  of  tho  constitution 
itself. 

•  74.  Resolved,  That  if  hereafter,  when  the  redress  of  all  grie- 
vances and  abuses  shall  have  been  effected,  this  house  shall 
deem  it  fit  and  expedient  to  grant  supplies,  it  ought  not  to  do 
80  otherwise  than  in  the  manner  mentioned  in  its  fifth  and  sixth 
resolutions,  of  tho  Kith  March,  IS'Y.),  and  by  appropriating  by 
its  votes  in  an  especial  manner,  and  in  the  order  in  which  they 
are  enumerated  in  the  said  resolutions,  the  full  amount  of  those 
heads  of  revenue,  to  the  right  of  appropriating  which  claims 
have  been  set  up  by  the  executive  government. 

75.  Resolved,  That  the  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
country  being  about  600,000,  those  of  French  origin  arc  about 


I     I 


l^'l 


i  I 


'  If  t'H 


144 


THE  BUBBLES 


■'^ 


;»is 


.i 


525,000,  and  those  of  British  or  other  origio  75,000;  and  that 
the  establishment  of  the  civil  government  of  Lower  Canada  for 
the  year  1832,  according  to  the  yearly  returns  made  by  the 
provincial  administration,  for  the  information  of  the  British 
parliament,  contained  the  names  of  157  officers  and  others  re- 
ceiving salaries,  who  are  apparently  of  British  or  foreign  ori- 
gin, and  the  names  of  47  who  are  apparently  natives  of  the 
country,  of  French  origin:  that  this  statement  does  not  exhibit 
the  whole  disproportion  wliich  exists  in  the  distribution  of  the 
public  money  and  power,  the  latter  class  being  for  the  most 
part  appointed  to  the  inferior  and  loss  lucrative  offices,  and 
most  frequently  only  obtaining  even  these  by  becoming  the  de- 
pendants of  those  who  hold  the  higher  and  more  lucrative  of- 
fices; that  the  accumulation  of  many  of  the  best  paid  and  most 
influential,  and  at  the  same  time  incompatible  offices,  in  the 
same  person,  which  is  forbidden  by  the  laws  and  by  sound  poli- 
cy, exists  especially  for  the  benefit  of  the  former  class;  and 
that  two-thirds  of  the  persons  included  in  the  last  commission 
of  the  peace  issued  in  the  province  arc  apparently  of  Britisii  or 
tbreign  origin,  and  one-third  only  of  French  origin. 

76.  Resolved,  That  this  partial  and  abusive  practice  of  be- 
stowing the  great  majority  of  official  places  in  tlio  province 
on  those  only  who  are  the  least  connected  with  its  permanent 
interests,  and  with  the  mass  of  its  inhabitants,  had  been  most 
especially  remarkable  in  the  judicial  department,  the  judges 
for  the  three  great  districts  having,  with  tiic  exception  of  one 
only  in  each,  been  eybtcmatically  chosen  from  that  class  of  per- 
sons, who  being  born  out  of  the  country,  are  tiie  least  versed  in 
its  laws,  and  in  the  language  and  usages  of  the  majority  of  its 
inhabitants;  thattlie  result  of  their  intermeddling  in  tlic  politics 
of  the  country,  of  their  connexion  with  the  members  of  the  Co- 
lonial administration,  and  of  their  prejudices  in  favour  of  the  in- 
stitutions foreign  to  and  at  variance  with  those  of  the  country,  is 
that  the  majority  of  the  said  judges  have  introduced  great  irregu- 
larity into  the  general  system  of  our  jurisprudence,  by  neglect- 
ing to  ground  their  decisions  on  its  recognised  principles;  and 
that  the  claim  laid  by  the  said  judges  to  the  power  of  regu- 
lating the  forms  of  legal  proceedings  in  a  manner  contrary  to 
the  laws  and  without  the  interference  of  the  legislature,  has 
frequently  been  extended  to  the  fundamental  rules  of  the  law 


1  that 
jafor 
y  the 
ritieh 


OF  CANADA. 


145 


i:    > 


and  of  practice;  and  that  in  consequence  of  the  same  system, 
^he  administration  of  the  criminal  law  is  partial  and  uncertain, 
and  such  as  to  afford  but  little  protection  to  the  subject,  and 
has  failed  to  inspire  that  confidence  which  ought  to  be  its  in- 
separable companion. 

77.  Resolved,  That  in  consequence  of  their  connexion  with 
the  members  of  the  provincial  administrations,  and  of  their  an- 
tipathy to  the  country,  some  of  the  said  judges  have,  in  viola- 
tion of  the  laws,  attempted  to  abolish  the  use  in  the  courts  of 
law  of  the  language  spoken  by  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  country,  which  is  necessary  to  the  free  action  of  the 
laws,  and  forms  a  portion  of  the  usages  guarantied  to  them  in 
the  most  solemn  manner  by  the  law  of  nations  and  by  the  sta- 
tutes of  the  British  Parliament. 

78.  Resolved,  That  some  of  the  said  judges,  through  parti- 
ality for  political  purposes,  and  in  violation  of  the  criminal  law 
of  England  as  established  in  this  country,  of  their  duty,  and 
their  oath,  have  connived  with  divers  law  officers  of  the  crown, 
acting  in  the  interests  of  the  provincial  administration,  to  al- 
low the  latter  to  engross  and  monopolize  all  criminal  prosecu- 
tions of  what  nature  soever,  without  allowing  the  private  pro- 
secutor to  intervene  or  be  heard,  or  any  advocate  to  express 
his  opinion  amicus  curicc,  when  the  Crown  officers  opposed  it; 
that  in  consequence  of  this,  numerous  prosecutions  of  a  politi- 
cal nature  have  been  brought  into  the  courts  of  law  by  the 
Crown  officers  against  those  whose  opinions  were  unfavoura- 
ble to  the  adminis:.ration  for  the  time  being;  while  it  was  im- 
possible for  the  very  numerous  class  of  his  majesty's  subjects 
to  which  the  latter  belonged  to  commence  with  the  slightest 
confidence  any  prosecution  against  those  who,  being  protected 
by  the  administration,  and  having  countenanced  its  acts  of  vio- 
lence, had  been  guilty  of  crimes  or  misdemeanors;  that  the 
tribunal  aforesaid  have,  as  far  as  the  persons  composing  them 
are  concerned,  undergone  no  modification  whatever,  and  in- 
spire the  same  fears  for  the  future. 

79.  Resolved,  That  this  house,  as  representing  the  people 
of  this  province,  possesses  of  right,  and  has  exercised  within 
this  province  when  occasion  has  required  it,  all  the  powers, 
privileges,  and  immunities  claimed  and  possessed  by  the  Com- 

13* 


146 


THE  BUBBLES 


mons  bouse  of  Parliament  in  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland. 

80.  Resolved,  That  it  is  one  of  the  undoubted  privileges  of 
this  house  to  send  for  all  persons,  papers,  and  records,  and  to 
command  the  attendance  of  all  persons,  civil  or  military,  resi- 
dent within  the  province,  as  witnesses  in  all  investigations 
which  this  house  may  deem  it  expedient  to  institute;  and  to 
require  such  witnesses  to  produce  all  papers  and  records  in  their 
keeping,  whenever  it  shall  deem  it  conducive  to  the  public 
good  to  do  so. 

81.  Resolved,  That  as  at  the  grand  inquest  of  the  province, 
it  is  the  duty  of  this  house  to  inquire  concerning  all  grievances, 
and  all  circumstances  which  may  endanger  the  general  wel- 
fare of  the  inhabitants  of  the  province,  or  be  of  a  nature  to  ex- 
cite alarm  in  them  with  regard  to  their  lives,  their  liberty,  and 
their  property,  to  the  end  that  such  representations  may  be 
made  to  our  most  gracious  Sovereign,  or  such  legislative  mea- 
sures introduced,  as  may  lead  to  the  redress  of  such  grievances, 
or  tend  to  allay  such  alarm;  and  that  far  from  having  a  right 
to  impede  the  exercise  of  these  rights  and  privileges,  the  go- 
vernor-in-chief is  deputed  by  his  Sovereign,  is  invested  with 
great  powers,  and  receives  a  large  salary,  as  much  for  defend- 
ing the  rights  of  the  subject  and  facilitating  the  exercise  of  the 
privileges  of  this  house  and  of  all  constituted  bodies,  as  for 
maintaining  the  prerogatives  of  the  crown. 

82.  Resolved,  That  since  the  commencement  of  the  present 
session,  a  great  number  of  petitions  relating  to  the  infinite 
variety  of  objects  connected  with  the  public  welfare,  have  been 
presented  to  this  house,  and  many  messages  and  important  com- 
munications received  by  it,  both  from  his  Majesty's  govern- 
ment in  England  and  from  his  Majesty's  provincial  govern- 
ment; that  many  bills  have  been  introduced  in  this  house, 
and  many  important  inquiries  ordered  by  it,  in  several  of  which 
the  governor-in-chief  is  personally  and  deeply  implicated;  that 
the  said  petitions  from  our  constituents,  the  people  of  all  parts 
of  this  province;  the  said  communications  from  his  Majesty's 
government  in  England  and  from  the  provincial  government; 
tlio  said  bills  already  introduced  or  in  preparation;  the  said 
ioquiries  comDicnced  and  intended  to  be  diligently  prosecuted, 


OF  CANADA. 


147 


may  and  must  necessitate  the  presence  of  numerous  wit- 
nesses, the  production  of  numerous  papers,  the  employment  of 
numerous  clerks,  messengers,  and  assistants,  and  much  print- 
ing, and  lead  to  inevitable  and  daily  disbursements,  forming 
the  contingent  expenses  of  this  house. 

83.  Resolved,  That  from  the  year  1792  to  the  present, 
advances  had  constantly  been  made  to  meet  these  expenses, 
on  addresses  similar  to  that  presented  this  year  by  this  house 
to  the  governor-in-chief,  according  to  the  practice  adopted 
by  the  House  of  Commons;  that  an  address  of  this  kind  is 
the  most  solenm  vote  of  credit  whici)  this  house  can  pass, 
and  that  almost  the  whole  amount  of  the  sum  exceeding 
£277,000  has  been  advanced  on  such  votes  by  the  pre- 
decessors of  his  excellency  the  governor-in-chief,  and  by 
himself  (as  he  acknowledges  by  his  message  on  the  18th 
January,  1834,)  without  any  risk  having  ever  been  incurred 
by  any  other  governor  on  account  of  any  such  advance,  al- 
though several  of  them  have  had  differences,  attended  by  vio- 
lence i.r'  inji'slice  on  their  part,  with  the  house  of  assembly, 
and  vW'!      '  t'.iir  apprehending  that  the  then  next  parliament 


wouK 


sposed  to  make  good  the  engagements  of  the 


house  of  assembly  for  the  time  being;  and  that  this  refusal  of 
the  govcrnor-in-chief,  in  the  present  instance,  essentially  im- 
pedes the  despatch  of  the  business  for  which  the  parliament 
was  called  together,  is  derogatory  to  the  rights  and  honour  of 
this  house,  and  forms  another  grievance  for  which  the  present 
administration  of  this  province  is  responsible. 

84.  Resolved,  That  besides  the  grievances  and  abuses  before- 
mentioned,  there  exist  in  this  province  a  great  number  of  others 
(a  part  of  wiiich  existed  before  the  commencement  vf  the  pre- 
sent administration,  which  has  maintained  them,  and  is  the 
author  of  a  portion  of  them,)  with  regard  to  which  this  house 
reserves  to  itself  the  right  of  complaining  and  demanding  re- 
paration, and  the  number  of  which  is  too  great  to  allow  of 
their  being  enumerated  here :  that  this  house  points  out  as 
among  that  number, — 

Istly.  The  vicious  composition  and  the  irresponsibility  of 
the  executive  council,  the  members  of  which  arc  at  the  same 
time  judges  of  the  court  of  appeals,  and  the  secrecy  with  which 
not  only  the  functions,  but  even  the  names  of  the  members  of 


■•    111 


li't 


UDf 


ki  B'^ 


148 


THE  BUBBLES 


that  body  have  been  kept  from  the  knowledge  of  this  house, 
when  inquiries  have  been  instituted  by  it  on  the  subject. 

2dly.  The  exorbitant  fees  illegally  exacted  in  certain  of  the 
public  offices,  and  in  others  connected  with  the  judicial  depart- 
ment, under  regulations  made  by  the  executive  council,  by  the 
judges,  and  by  other  functionaries  usurping  the  powers  of  the 
legislature. 

3dly.  The  practice  of  illegally  calling  upon  the  judges  to 
give  their  opinions  secretly  on  questions  which  may  be  after- 
wards publicly  and  contradictorily  argued  before  them;  and 
the  opinions  themselves  so  given  by  the  said  judges,  as  political 
partisans,  in  opposition  to  the  laws,  but  in  favour  of  the  adminis- 
tration for  the  time  beiujT. 

4thly.  The  cumulation  of  public  places  and  offices  in  the 
same  persons,  and  the  effi^^rts  made  by  a  number  of  families 
connected  with  the  administration  to  perpetuate  this  state  of 
things  for  their  own  advantage,  and  for  the  sake  of  domineering 
for  ever,  with  interested  views  and  in  the  spirit  of  party,  over 
the  people  and  their  rt^jresentatives. 

5thly.    The  intermeddling  of  members  of  the  legislative 
councils  in  the  elections  of  the  representatives  of  the  people, 
for  the  purpose  of  influencing  and  controlling  them  by  force, 
and  the  selection  frequently  made  of  returning  officers  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  the  same  partial  and  corrupt  ends;  the 
interference  of  the  present  governor-in-chief  himself  in  the 
said  elections;  his  approval  of  the  intermeddling  of  (he  said  le- 
gislative counsellors  in  the  said  elections;  the  partiality  with 
which  he  intervened  in  the  judicial  proceedings  connected 
with  the  said  elections,  for  the  purpose  of  influencing  the  said 
proceeding  in  a  manner  favourable  to  the  military  power,  and 
contrary  to  the  independence  of  the  judicial  power;  and  the 
applause  which,  as  commander  of  the  forces,  he  bestowed 
upon  the  sanguinary  execution  of  the  citizens  by  the  soldiery. 
Gthly.  The  interference  of  the  armed  military  force  at  such 
elections,  through  which  three  peaceable  citizens,  whose  ex- 
ertions were  necessary  to  the  support  of  their  families,  and 
who  were  strangers  to  the  agitation  of  the  election,  were  shot 
dead  in  the  streets;  the  applause  bestowed  by  the  governor-in 
chief  and  commander  of  the  forces  on  the  authors  of  this 
sanguinary  military  execution  (who  had  not  been  acquitted 


on 


house, 

of  the 
depart- 
by  the 
of  the 


OF  CAITADA. 


149 


by  a  petty  jury,)  for  the  firmness  and  discipline  displayed  by 
them  on  that  occasion. 

7thly.  The  various  faulty  and  partial  systems  which  have 
been  followed  ever  since  the  passing'  of  the  constitutional  act, 
with  regard  to  the  management  of  the  waste  lands  in  this 
province,  and  have  rendered  it  impossible  for  the  great  major- 
ity of  the  people  of  the  country  to  settle  on  the  said  lands ;  the 
fraudulent  and  illegal  manner  in  which,  contrary  to  his  Ma- 
jesty's instructions,  governors,  legislative  and  executive  coun- 
sellors, judges,  »ind  subordinate  officers  have  appropriated  to 
themselves  lar^j  tracts  of  the  said  lands;  the  monopoly  of  an 
extensive  portion  of  the  said  lands  in  the  hands  of  speculators 
residing  in  England,  with  which  the  province  is  now  threat- 
ened ;  and  the  alarm  generally  felt  therein  with  regard  to  the 
alleged  participation  of  his  Majesty's  government  in  this 
scheme,  without  its  havinsr  deigned  to  re-assure  his  faithful 
subjects  on  tliis  head,  or  to  reply  to  the  humble  address  to  his 
Majesty  adopted  by  this  house  during  the  last  session. 

Sthl}'.  The  increase  of  the  expenses  of  the  government  with- 
out the  authority  of  the  legislature,  and  the  disproportion  of 
the  salaries  paid  to  public  functionaries  to  the  services  per- 
formed by  them,  to  the  rent  of  real  property,  and  to  the  ordi- 
nary income  commanded  by  the  exertions  of  persons  possessing 
talent,  industry,  and  economy,  equal  to  or  greater  than  those 
of  the  said  functionaries. 

Othly.  The  want  of  all  resource  in  the  courts  of  law  on  the 
part  of  those  who  have  just  and  legal  claims  on  the  government. 

lOthly.  The  too  frequent  reservation  of  bills  for  the  signifi- 
cation of  his  mnjcsty's  pleasure,  and  the  neglect  of  the  Colonial 
Office  to  consider  such  bills,  a  great  number  of  which  have 
never  been  sent  back  to  the  province,  and  some  of  which  have 
even  been  returned  so  late  that  doubts  may  be  entertained  as 
to  tiie  vi'.lidity  of  the  sanction  given  to  them;  a  circumstance 
which  has  introduced  irregularity  and  uncertainty  into  tl:e 
legislation  of  the  province,  and  is  felt  by  this  house  as  an  im- 
pediment to  the  re-introduction  of  the  bills  reserved  during  the 
then  preceding  sessions. 

llthly.  The  neglect  on  the  part  of  the  Colonial  Office  to 
give  any  answer  to  certain  addresses  transmitted  by  this  house 
on  important  subjects;  the  practice  followed  by  the  administra- 


!  I 


■>\i 


(I 


■■'•  ;■  i 

IT  5(1  li 


i-1 


>^ 


150 


THE  BUBBLES 


.;r^ 


tion  of  communicating  in  an  incomplete  manner,  and  by  ex- 
tracts, and  frequently  without  giving  their  dates,  the  despatches 
received  from  time  to  time  on  subjects  which  liave  engaged 
the  attention  of  this  house ;  and  the  too  frequent  refcicnces  to 
the  opinion  of  his  Majesty's  ministers  in  England,  on  the  part 
of  the  provincial  administration,  upon  points  which  it  is  in  their 
power  and  within  tiieir  province  to  decide. 

12thly.  The  unjust  retention  of  the  college  at  Quebec, 
which  forms  part  of  the  estates  of  the  late  order  of  Jesuits,  and 
which  from  a  college  has  been  transformed  into  a  barrack  for 
soldiers;  the  renewal  of  the  lease  of  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  same  estates,  by  the  provincial  executive,  in  flwour  of  a 
member  of  the  legislative  council,  since  those  estates  were  re- 
turned to  the  legislature,  and  in  opposition  to  tlie  prayer  of  this 
house,  and  to  the  known  wishes  of  a  great  number  of  his  Ma- 
jesty's subjects,  to  obtain  lands  there  and  to  settle  on  them ; 
and  the  refusal  of  the  said  executive  to  communicate  the  said 
lease,  and  otiicr  information  on  the  subject,  to  this  house. 

13thly.  Tlic  obstacles  unjustly  opposed  by  the  executive, 
friendly  to  abuses  and  to  ignorance,  to  the  establishment  of 
colleges  endowed  by  virtuous  and  disinterested  men,  for  the 
purpose  of  meeting  the  growing  desire  of  the  people  for  the 
careful  education  of  their  children,* 

14thly.  The  refusal  of  justice  with  regard  to  the  accusations 
brought  by  this  house,  in  the  name  of  the  people,  against  judges 
for  flagrant  acts  of  malversation,  and  for  ignorance  and  viola- 
tion of  the  law. 

ISthly.    The  refusals  on  the  part  of  the  governors,  and 


*  To  illus^tratc  the  malignant  spirit  inlicrit  in  the  party  there  only  needed 
this  acciisatinn.  Mr.  M'Gill,  a  respectable  resident,  on  hii)  demise  some 
years  ago,  left  XIO.OOO,  wliorewith  to  endow  a  college  for  the  purpose  of  edu- 
cation, to  be  called  after  him.  I'lio  hcirat-law  and  executor,  one  of  tlie 
clique,  refused  to  part  with  the  funds,  and  disputed  the  will.  After  being 
worsted  in  the  Colonial  courts,  it  was  carried  by  appeal  to  London,  and  ul- 
timately the  decision  of  the  courts  in  Canada  confirmed,  by  which  the  bequest, 
with  interest,  now  amounting  to  more  than  X'21,000,  is  ordered  to  be  applied 
according  to  the  testator's  will.  We  shall  merely  state  that  Viger  prosecuted 
the  suit— that  Papineaii  advis.^d  the  defence— and  that  Des  lUvieres,  the 
executor,  since  the  cause  has  been  decided  ogainst  liim,  is  bankrupt.  The 
crime  of  the  will,  we  suppose,  was,  that  it  did  not  restrict  the  uses  of  the  co|. 
lege  to  the  French  party.— Se«  Canada  Question, 


OF  CANADA. 


151 


more  especially  of  the  present  governor-in-chief,  to  commu- 
nicate to  this  house  the  information  asked  for  by  it  from  time  to 
time,  and  which  it  had  a  right  to  obtain,  on  a  great  number  ot 
subjects  connected  with  the  public  business  of  the  province. 

16thly.  Tiie  refusal  of  his  Majesty's  Government  to  reim- 
burse to  the  province  the  amount  for  which  the  late  receiver- 
general  was  a  defaulter,  and  its  neglect  to  enforce  the  recourse 
which  the  province  was  entitled  to  against  the  property  and 
person  of  the  late  receiver-general. 

85.  Resolved,  That  the  facts  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  re- 
solutions, demonstrate  that  the  laws  and  constitutions  of  the 
province  have  not,  at  any  period,  been  administered  in  a  man- 
ner more  contrary  to  the  interests  of  his  Majesty's  government, 
and  to  the  rights  of  the  people  of  this  province,  than  under  the 
present  administration,  and  render  it  necessary  tiiat  his  Excel- 
lency Matthew  Lord  Aylmer,  of  Balrath,  the  present  governor- 
in-chief  of  this  province,  be  formally  accused  by  this  house  of 
liaving,  while  acting  as  governor,  in  contradiction  to  the  wishes 
of  the  Imperial  Parliament,  and  to  the  instructions  he  may  have 
received,  and  against  the  honour  and  dignity  of  the  crown,  and 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  this  house  and  the  people  whom  it 
represents,  so  recomposed  the  legislative  council  as  to  augment 
the  dissensions  which  rend  tins  colony;  of  having  seriously  im- 
peded the  labours  of  this  house,  acting  as  the  grand  inquest  of 
the  country;  of  liaving  disposed  of  the  public  revenue  of  the 
province,  against  the  consent  of  the  representatives  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  in  violation  of  the  law  and  constitution ;   of  having 
maintained  existing  abuses,  and  created  now  ones;  of  having 
refused  to  sign  a  writ  tor  tiie  election  of  a  representative  to  fill 
a  vacancy  which  had  happened  in  this  house,  and  to  complete 
the  number  of  representatives  established  by  law  for  this  pro- 
vince; and  that  this  house  expects  from  the  honour,  patriotism, 
und  justice  of  the  reformed  Parliament  of  the  United  Kingdom, 
that  the  commons  of  the  said  parliament  will  bring  impeach- 
ments, and  will  support  such  impeachments  before  the  House 
of  Lords  against  the  said  Matthew  Lord  Aylmer,  for  his  illegal, 
unjust,  and  unconstitutional  administration  of  the  government 
of  this  province;  and  against  such  of  the  wicked  and  perverse 
advisers  who  have  misled  him,  as  this  house  may  hereafter  ac- 


►  m 


-n-jil? 


1  .     nil 


159 


THE  BUBBLES 


cuse,  if  there  be  no  means  of  obtaining  justice  against  them  in 
the  province,  or  at  the  hands  of  his  Majesty's  executive  govern- 
ment  in  England. 

86.  Resolved,  That  this  house  hopes  and  believes  that  the 
independent  members  of  both  houses  of  Parliament  of  the 
United  Kingdom  will  be  disposed,  both  from  inclination  and  a 
sense  of  duty,  to  support  the  accusations  brought  by  this  house; 
to  watcii  over  the  preservation  of  its  rights  and  privileges, 
which  have  been  so  frequently  and  violently  attacked,  more 
especially  by  the  present  administration;  and  so  to  act,  that  the 
people  of  this  province  may  not  be  forced  by  oppression  to  re- 
gret their  dependence  on  the  British  Empire,  and  to  seek  else- 
where a  remedy  for  their  affliction. 

87.  Resolved,  That  this  house  learned,  with  gratitude,  that 
Daniel  O'Conneli,  Esq.,  had  given  notice  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons in  July  last,  that  during  the  present  session  of  the  Impe- 
rial Parliament,  he  would  call  its  attention  to  the  necessity  of 
reforming  the  legislative  and  executive  councils  in  the  two 
Canadas;  and  that  the  interest  thus  shown  for  our  own  fate  by 
him  whom  the  gratitude  and  blessings  of  his  countrymen  have, 
with  the  applause  of  the  whole  civilized  world,  proclaimed  great 
and  liberator,  end  of  whom  our  fellow-countrymen  entertain  cor- 
responding sentiments,  keeps  alive  in  us  the  hope  that,  through 
the  goodness  of  our  cause  and  the  services  of  such  a  friend,  the 
British  Parliament  will  not  permit  a  minister,  deceived  by  the 
interested  representations  of  the  provincial  administration  and 
its  creatures  and  tools,  to  exert  (as  there  is  reason  from  his 
despatches  to  apprehend  that  he  may  attempt  to  do)  the  high- 
est degree  of  oppression  in  favour  of  a  system  which,  in  bet- 
ter times,  he  characterized  as  faulty,  and  against  subjects  of 
his  Majesty  who  are  apparently  only  known  to  him  by  the 
great  patience  with  which  they  have  waited  in  vain  for  pro- 
mised reforms. 

88.  Resolved,  That  this  house  has  the  same  confidence  in 
Joseph  Hume,  Esq.,  and  feels  the  same  gratitude  for  the  anx- 
iety  which  he  has  repeatedly  shown  for  the  good  government  of 
these  colonies,  and  the  amelioration  of  their  laws  and  constitu- 
tions, and  calls  upon  the  said  Daniel  O'Conneli  and  Joseph 
Hume,  Esqrs.,  whose  con-^tant  devotednesa  was,  even  under  a 


OF  CANADA. 


153 


tory  ministry,  and  before  the  reform  of  parliament,  partially 
successful  in  the  emancipation  of  Ireland,  from  the  same  bon- 
dage and  the  same  political  inferiority  with  which  the  coni' 
munications  received  from  the  colonial  secretary  during  the 
present  session  menace  the  people  of  Lower  Canada,  to  use 
their  etSbtta  that  the  laws  and  constitution  of  this  province  may 
be  amended  in  the  manner  demanded  by  the  people  thereof; 
that  the  abuses  and  grievances  of  which  the  latter  have  tv 
complain  may  be  fully  and  entirely  redressed  ;  and  that  the 
laws  and  constitution  may  be  iiereaflcr  administered  in  a  irinii* 
ner  consonant  with  justice,  with  the  honour  of  the  crown  and 
of  the  people  of  England,  and  with  the  rights,  liberties,  and  pri- 
vilegcsof  the  people  of  this  province,  and  of  this  house  by  whicii 
they  are  represented. 

89.  Resolved,  That  this  iiouae  invites  the  members  of  tin- 
minority  of  the  legislative  council  who  partake  the  opinions  ot 
the  people,  the  present  members  of  the  House  of  Assem- 
bly, until  the  next  general  election,  and  afterwards  all  t!it' 
members  then  elected,  and  such  other  persons  as  they  may  as- 
sociate  with  them,  to  form  one  committee  or  two  committees  of 
correspondence,  to  sit  at  Quebec  and  Montreal  in  the  first  in- 
stance, and  afterwards  at  such  place  as  they  shall  think  pro- 
per; the  said  committees  to  communicate  with  each  other  and 
with  the  several  local  committees,  which  may  be  formed  in 
different  parts  of  the  province,  and  to  enter  into  correspondence 
with  the  Honourable  Denis  B.  Vigor,  the  agent  of  this  proviiico 
in  England,  with  the  said  Daniel  O'Connell  and  Joseph  Hume. 
Esqrs.,  and  with  such  other  members  of  tlie  House  of  Lords  or 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  such  other  persons  in  the 
United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  as  they  may 
deem  expedient,  for  the  purposeof  supporting  the -claims  of  the 
people  of  this  province  and  of  this  house;  of  furnishing  such  in- 
formation, documents,  and  opinions  as  they  may  think  adapted 
to  make  known  the  state,  wishes,  and  wants  of  the  province: 
the  said  committees  also  to  correspond  with  such  persons  as 
they  shall  think  proper  in  the  other  British  colonies,  which  are 
all  interested,  that  the  most  populous  of  their  sister  colonies  do 
not  sink  under  the  violent  attempt  to  perpetuate  the  abuses  and 
evils  which  result  as  well  from  the  vices  of  its  constitution  as 
14 


■■|.    < 


J54 


TUE  BUBBLES 


from  the  combined  malversation  of  the  administrative,  legishc 
tive,  and  judicial  departments,  out  of  which  have  sprung  insult 
and  oppression  for  the  people,  and,  by  a  necessary  consequence, 
hatred  and  contempt,  on  their  purt,  tor  the  provincial  govern- 
ment. 

90.  Resolved,  That  tlio  Honourable  Denis  Bcnjnmin  Vigor  be 
requested  to  remain  at  the  seat  of  his  Majesty's  government, 
at  least  during  the  present  session  of  tlio  Imperial  Parliament, 
to  continue  to  watch  over  the  interests  of  the  province  with  the 
same  zeal  and  the  same  devotedncss  as  heretofore,  w  ithout  suf- 
fering himself  to  be  discouraged  by  mere  formal  objections  on 
the  part  of  those  who  are  unwilling  to  listen  to  the  complaints 
of  the  country. 

91.  Resolved,  That  the  fuir  and  reasonable  expenses  of  the 
said  two  committees  of  corrcspomlcnco,  incurred  by  them  in 
the  performance  of  the  duties  intrusted  to  them  by  this  house, 
are  a  debt  which  it  contracts  towards  them;  and  that  the  re- 
presentatives of  the  people  are  bound  in  honour  to  u?e  all  con- 
stitutional means  lo  reimburse  such  expenses  to  the  said  com- 
mittee, or  to  such  person  as  may  advance  money  to  tlietn  for 
the  purposes  above-mentioned. 

92.  Resolved,  That  the  message  from  his  excellency  the 
governor-in-chief,  received  on  tlio  13th  of  January  last,  and 
relating  to  the  writ  of  election  for  the  county  of  Montreal,  with 
the  extract  from  a  despatch  which  accompnnied  if,  the  message 
from  the  same,  received  the  s.imo  day,  and  relating  to  the  sup- 
ply bill,  and  the  message  from  the  same,  received  on  the  14tli 
January  last,  with  the  extract  from  the  despatch  which  accom- 
panied it,  be  expunged  from  the  journals  of  this  liouse. 

These  resolutions,  and  the  memorial  ace  mpany- 
ing  them,  were  referred  to  a  committee  composed, 
like  the  last,  chiefly  of  liberal  members,  and  contain- 
ing several  persons  whose  opinions  were  well  known 
to  be  favourable  to  their  cause.  The  Canadian  dele- 
gate, Mr.  Morin,*  was  heard  at  great  length,  and  I 

*  See  the  evidence  taken  before  the  committee,  and  publit>he  d 
by  order  of  Parliament. 


OP  CAVADA. 


155 


must  refer  you  to  the  testimony  given  by  him  as  a 
proof  how  all  the  vague  assertions  contained  in  their 
petition  and  resolutions  vanished,  when  they  were 
subjected  to  a  critical  and  close  examination.  There 
are  few  instances  on  record  in  which  a  witness  was 
so  skilfully  examined,  or  where  a  clever  man,  as  he 
undoubtedly  is,  was  brought  to  refute  himself  so 
completely  as  he  has  done.  After  a  palient  hearing 
of  all  he  could  say,  the  committee  reported  (June, 
1S34,)  as  follows: — 

"  Tiiat  the  most  earnest  anxiety  had  existed,  on 
the  part  of  the  home  government,  to  carry  into  ef- 
fect the  suggestions  of  the  committee  of  1828;  and 
that  the  endeavours  of  the  government  to  thrt  end 
had  been  unremitting,  and  guided  by  the  desire,  in 
all  cases,  to  promote  the  interest  of  the  colony;  and 
that  in  several  important  particulars  their  endeavours 
had  been  completely  successful;  that  in  others,  how- 
ever, they  had  not  been  attended  with  that  success 
which  might  have  been  anticipated,  heats  and  ani- 
mosities and  differences  having  arisen;  that  it  ap- 
peared to  the  committee  some  mutual  misconception 
had  prevailed;  and  that  they  believed  they  should 
best  discharge  their  duty  by  withholding  any  farther 
opinion  on  the  points  in  dispute;  and  were  persuaded 
the  practical  measures  for  the  future  administration 
of  Lower  Canada  might  best  be  left  to  the  mature 
consideration  of  the  government  responsible  for  their 
adoption  and  execution." 


1     < 


lii 


•'V 


I'M 


l.Vt 


THE  BUBBLES 


LETTER  VIII. 


V 


I 


li 


Shortly  afterwards  the  wliole  of  the  proceedings 
(»f  govcnimeiit,  since  the  year  1828  lo  the  present 
|)eriocl,  were  dclnilctl  in  a  very  able  and  lucid  state- 
jncnt  of  my  Lord  Aberdeen,  in  which  he  claims  for 
iiiinsclf  and  colleagues  the  credit  of  a  full  and  faith- 
I'lil  comjiliance  with  the  recommendations  of  the  Ca- 
iiiida  committee,  as  far  as  the  powers  of  the  execu- 
'ivi!  permitted  them  to  do  so.  I  have,  therefore, 
ihslaiiicd  from  entering  into  the  particulars  myself, 
Mul  jirefer  giving  this  narrative  to  compiling  one  of 
my  own.  It  is  not  only  infmitciv  better  done  than 
I  could  hope  to  do  it,  but  it  is  desirable,  in  such 
cases,  to  draw  one's  information  from  the  most  au- 
'hontic  sources.  I  am  neither  the  advocate  nor  the 
panegyrist  of  any  of  these  administrations — what  my 
ojiinion  of  their  policy  may  bo  is  of  little  conse- 
quence; but  even  if  it  were  much  more  favourable 
than  it  happens  to  be,  I  should  refrain  from  express- 
ing it,  for  I  have  yet  to  learn  how  a  poor  man  can 
eulogize  the  character  of  those  who  are  in  power, 
and  yet  sustain  the  reputation  of  his  own  sincerity. 
With  the  wisdom  of  their  measures  I  have  nothing 
to  do  at  present;  my  object  is  to  show  there  has  been 
no  oppression,  and  that,  whatever  imputation  these 
proceedings  deserve,  they  are  at  least  exempted  from 
that  of  unkindness.  I  must,  therefore,  request  a 
careful  perusal  of  the  following  document: — 


or  CANADA. 


167 


In  tho  following  pa^'cs  Lurd  Aberdeen  will  attempt  to  show 
that  there  was  Hulliciont  reason  to  anticipate  the  entire  conci> 
liation  of  Lower  Cuniida  from  the  Dcconiplisiimcnt  of  the  rcso* 
lutions  of  the  Canada  comrnittco,and  that,  to  the  utmoHt  of  the 
power  of  tiio  Crown,  those  rcBohitiontj  wore,  in  fuct,  carried 
into  execution. 

The  appointment  of  tho  Canada  committee  of  1828  vvai-',  on 
every  occount,  an  important  prococdiiig.  Tho  redress  of 
grievances  Imd  been  demanded,  not  by  an  isolated  party,  but 
by  both  of  those  groat  bodies  whicli  divide  between  them  tho 
wealth  and  political  authority  of  tlio  province.  With  views 
cssenliully  dissimilar,  or  rather  hostile,  lh«y  had  concurred  in 
nn  oppeal  to  iho  metropolitan  government. 

By  each  body  of  jHititioners  were  deputed  agents  aiUhoriz^'J 
to  interpret  their  wishoft,  and  to  enforce  thuir  claims.  Th  .' 
committee  itself  was  certainly  not  composed  of  gentlemen  ur« 
favourable  to  tho  views  of  the  great  numerical  majority  of  the 
house  of  assembly.  Tliey  prosecuted  the  inquiry  with  great 
diligence  and  zeal.  They  examined  tho  agents  of  both  par- 
tiep,  and  every  other  person  capable  of  throwing  light  on  the 
su!)j«ict  rcffrrod  to  them.  None  of  tho  questions  brought  un- 
der their  notice,  either  by  tho  petitioners  or  by  the  witncs!!cs, 
was  unexplored;  and,  in  the  rei-nilt,  a  report  was  made,  in 
which,  with  an  explanation  of  every  hnown  or  supposed 
grievance,  wore  combined  suggestions  fi^r  tho  guidance  of  the 
executive  government  in  applying  the  appropriate  rcmodiep. 

Tlie  house  of  assembly  in  liOwer  Caiiadii,  in  their  answer 
to  tiio  address  with  which  tho  administrator  of  the  government 
opened  tho  session  of  tho  provincial  parliament  in  the  winter 
of  1828,  characterized  this  report  in  terms  which  may  bo  tran- 
scribed as  expressing,  on  tho  highest  local  authority,  tho 
claims  of  that  documont  to  respect,  ns  aKbrditig  a  guide  at 
once  to  the  Canadian  assembly,  and  to  tho  minii-ter-^  of  the 
crown,  of  the  rights  to  be  asserted  by  the  one,  and  . :  >■•  .ied 
by  the  other.  "The  charges  and  wellfonndod  complamts," 
observed  the  house,  "of  the  Canadians  before  that  august  se- 
nate, were  referred  to  a  committee  of  the  house  -.a  commons, 
indicated  by  the  colonial  minister,  that  crnrauee  exhibiting 
a  striking  combination  of  talent  and  patriotism,  uaitirg  a  gc* 

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THE  BUBBLES 


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neral  knowledge  of  public  and  constitutional  law  to  a  particu- 
lar acquaintance  with  the  state  of  both  the  Canades,  formally 
applauded  almost  all  the  reforms  which  the  Canadian  people 
and  their  representatives  demanded  and  still  demand.  After 
a  solemn  investigation,  after  deep  and  prolonged  deliberation, 
llio  committee  made  a  report,  an  imperishable  monument  of 
Jlieir  justice  and  profound  wisdom,  an  authentic  testimonial  of 
the  reality  of  our  grievances,  and  of  the  justice  of  our  com- 
plaints, faithfully  interpreting  our  wishes  and  our  wants. 
Through  this  report,  so  honourable  to  its  authors,  his  Majesty's 
jqovernmcnt  has  become  bettor  than  ever  acquainted  with  the 
true  situation  of  this  province,  and  can  better  than  ever  reme- 
(iy  existing  grievances  and  obviate  difficulties  for  tlie  future."' 
Jianguagc  more  comprclicnsive  or  emphatic  could  not  have 
iieon  found,  in  which  to  record  the  acceptance  by  tiie  house  of 
tissembly,  of  the  report  of  182S,  as  t!ie  basis  on  which  they 
uere  content  to  proceed  for  the  adjustment  of  all  differences. 
Tiie  questions  in  debate  became  thenceforth,  by  the  common 
»?on5cnt  of  both  parlies,  reducible  to  tiie  simple  inquiry  whe- 
;i:er  the  British  government  had,  to  the  fullest  extent  of  their 
inwful  authority,  faithfully  carried  the  recommendations  of  the 
(jommittceof  1S2S  into  execution. 

On  a  review  of  all  the  subsequent  correspondence.  Lord 
Aberdeen  finds  himself  entitled  to  state  that,  in  conformity 
witii  the  express  injunctions,  and  the  paternal  wishes  of  the 
iving,  his  Majesty's  confidential  advisers  have  carried  into 
oomplcto  effect  every  suggestion  oftcred  lor  tlicir  guidance  by 
ilie  committee  of  the  house  of  commons. 

It  is  necessary  to  verify  this  statement  by  a  careful  and  mi- 
nute comparison  between  the  advice  received,  and  the  mea- 
sures adopted.  To  avoid  the  possibility  of  error,  the  succes- 
sive recommendations  of  the  committee  of  1828  shall  be  tran- 
.-.cribed  at  length,  willi  no  other  deviation  than  that  of  changing 
ihe  order  in  which  the  topics  ore  successively  arranged  in 
their  report,  an  order  dictated  by  considerations  of  an  acci- 
dental and  temporary  nature,  but  otherwise  inconvenient,  as 
postponing  many  of  the  weightier  topics  to  some  of  compara- 
tively light  importance. 

First,  then,,  the  report  of  1828  contains  the  following  advice 


M'^t.. 


1 


OF  CANADA. 


150 


of  the  Canada  committee  on  the  subject  of  finance — "Al- 
though from  the  opinion  given  by  the  law  officers  of  the  crown, 
your  committee  must  conclude  that  the  legal  right  of  appro- 
priating the  revenues  arising  from  the  act  of  1774  is  vested  in 
the  crown,  thoy  are  prepared  to  say  that  the  real  interests  of 
the  provinces  would  be  best  promoted  by  placing  the  receipt 
and  expenditure  of  the  wl)ole  public  revenue  under  the  super- 
intendence and  control  of  the  house  of  assembly."  "  If  the 
officers  above  enumerated  are  placed  on  the  footing  recom- 
mended," (that  is,  in  a  state  of  pecuniary  independence  on  the 
assembly)  "your  committee  are  of  opinion  that  all  the  revenues 
of  the  province,  except  the  territorial  and  hereditary  revenues 
should  be  placed  under  the  control  and  direction  of  the  legisla- 
tive assembly." 

The  strict  legal  right  of  tlic  crown  to  appropriate  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  statute  14  G.  111.,  c.  S8,  being  thus  directly  main- 
tained, the  renunciation  of  that  rigiit  was  recommended,  on 
condition  that  "  the  governor,  the  members  of  the  executive 
council,  and  the  judges,  should  be  made  independcntof  the  an- 
nual votes  of  the  house  of  assembly  fur  their  respective  sala- 
ries." What  then  has  been  the  result]  His  Majesty  has  re- 
nounced these;  his  acknowledged  legal  rightiJ,  but  has  not 
stipulated  for  tlio  performance,  on  tlie  part  of  the  assembly,  of 
the  condition  thus  imposed  upon  them,  and,  to  the  present  mo- 
ment, that  condition  remains  unfultilied.  By  the  British  statute 
1  &.  2  W.  IV.,  c.  7J3,  which  was  introduced  into  parliament  by 
his  Majesty's  then  confidential  advisers,  the  appropriation  of 
the  revenues  of  the  14  G.  HI.,  is  transferred  to  the  assea)bly 
absolutely,  and  without  either  that  qualification  wiiich  the 
committee  proposed,  or  any  other.  Here,  then,  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  their  advice  has  been  followed,  not  only  with  im- 
plicit deference,  but  in  a  spirit  of  concession  which  they  did 
not  contemplate. 

Secondly.  On  the  subject  of  the  representation  of  the  peo- 
ple in  Lower  Canada,  the  opinion  of  the  committee  was  ex- 
pressed in  the  following  terms: — "Your  committee  are  now 
desirous  of  adverting  to  the  representative  system  of  Lower 
Canada,  with  respect  to  which,  all  parties  seem  to  agree  that 
some  change  should  take  place."    After  detailing  the  various- 


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THE  BUBBLES 


causes  which  had  led  to  an  inequality  in  the  number  of  the 
members  of  the  assembly  in  favour  of  the  French  inhabitants 
of  the  seigniories,  and  therefore  to  the  prejudice  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  English  origin  in  the  townships,  the  committee  passed 
from  the  subject  with  the  following  general  remark.  "  in  pro- 
viding a  representative  system  for  the  inhabitants  of  a  country 
which  is  gradually  comprehending  within  its  limits  newly  peo- 
pled and  extensive  districts,  great  imperfections  must  necessa- 
rily arise  from  proceeding  in  the  first  instance  on  the  basis  of 
population  only.  In  Upper  Canada,  a  representative  system 
has  been  founded  on  the  compound  basis  of  territory  aud  popu- 
lation. Tliis  principle,  we  tiiink,  might  be  advantageously 
adopted  in  Lower  Canada." 

It  was  with  tlic  entire  concurrence  of  his  Majesty's  govern- 
ment, that  the  legislature  of  Lower  Canada  assumed  to  them- 
selves the  duty  of  giving  effect  to  this  part  of  the  advice  of  the 
committee.  That  report  had  laid  down  the  general  principle 
that,  with  one  exception,  "all  changes,  if  possible,  be  carried 
into  effect  by  the  local  legislature  tliemselves;"  and  to  that 
principle  the  ministers  of  the  crown  adhered,  even  in  a  case 
where  the  dominant  majority  of  the  assembly  had  an  interest 
directly  opposed  to  tliat  of  the  great  body  of  English  inhabi- 
tants, for  whose  special  relief  the  new  representation  bill  was 
to  be  enacted.  Such  a  bill  was  accordingly  passed,  and  was 
reserved  for  the  signification  of  his  Miijcsty's  pleasure.  It  ac- 
tually received  the  royal  assent,  and  is,  at  this  day,  the  law  of 
the  province. 

In  this  case,  also,  the  concessions  made  to  the  Canadian  in- 
habitants of  French  origin  were  far  greater  than  the  authors 
of  the  report  of  1828  could  have  had  in  contemplation.  The 
Upper  Canadian  principle  of  combining  territory  and  popula- 
tion, as  the  basis  of  elective  franchise,  was  not  adopted  in 
Lower  Canada:  the  assembly  substituted  for  it  a  new  division 
of  the  country,  of  wiiich  the  effect  lias  been  to  increase  rather 
tlian  to  diminish  the  disproportion  between  the  number  of  mem- 
bers returned  bv  the  English  and  those  representing  the  French 
Canadian  interest.  This  result  of  the  bill  was  distinctly  fore- 
seen by  the  official  advisers  of  the  crown,  and  it  became  the 
subject  of  grave  deliberation  whether  h's  Majesty  should  be  ad- 


OF  CANADA. 


161 


vised  to  acquiesce  in  a  scheme  which  followed  the  advice  of 
tlie  Canada  committee,  so  fur  indeed  as  to  effect  a  material 
change  in  the  reprcsentntivo  body,  and  so  far  as  to  give  to  the 
English  settlers  a  few  L-.oro  voices  in  the  assembly,  but  not  so 
far  as  to  secure  to  them  any  additional  weight  in  the  delibera- 
tions of  that  house.  It  is  not  within  the  object  of  this  minute 
to  defend  or  to  explain  the  motives  of  the  ultimate  decision  in 
favour  of  the  bill.  For  the  present  purpose  it  is  enough  to  say, 
that  the  acceptance  of  it  gave  to  the  Canadians  of  French  ori- 
gin far  more  than  the  report  of  1828  authorized  them  to  ex- 
pect. 

Tliirdly.  Inferior  only  in  importance  to  the  topics  already 
noticed,  is  that  of  the  independence  of  the  judges,  respecting 
which  tlu!  following  passage  may  be  extracted  from  the  report 
of  1^28 : — "  On  the  other  hand,  your  committee,  while  recom- 
mending such  a  concession  on  the  part  of  the  crown,"  (the 
concession,  that  is,  of  the  revenue,)  "are  strongly  impressed 
with  the  advantage  of  rendering  the  judges  independent  of 
the  annual  votes  of  the  house  of  assembly  for  their  respective 
salaries.  Your  committee  are  fully  aware  of  the  objections  in 
principle,  which  may  bo  fairly  raised  against  the  practice  o 
voting  permanent  salaries  to  the  judges  who  are  removable  at 
the  pleasure  of  the  crown;  but  being  convinced  that  it  would 
be  inexpedient  that  the  crown  should  be  deprived  of  the  power 
of  removal;  and  having  well  considered  the  public  inconve- 
nience which  might  result  from  their  being  left  in  depen- 
dence on  the  annual  vote  of  the  assembly;  they  have  deckled 
to  make  the  recommendation,  in  their  instance,  of  a  permanent 
vote  of  salary." 

Thus  the  Canada  committee  of  1828  were  of  opinion  that 
the  judges  ought  to  be  independent  of  the  assembly  for  their 
incomes,  but  ought  to  continue  liable  to  removal  from  office  at 
the  pleasure  of  the  Crown.  Yet  so  far  have  the  British  go- 
vernment been  from  meting  out  relief  to  the  province  grudging- 
ly, or  in  any  narrow  spirit,  that  they  have  left  nothing  unat- 
tempted  which  could  secure  to  the  judges,  not  merely  that 
pecuniary  independence  which  the  committee  advised,  but  that 
independent  tenure  of  office  also,  which  their  report  expressly 
dissuaded.  In  the  adjacent  province  of  Upper  Canada,  both  ob- 


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jccts  liave  been  happily  accomplished.  In  his  despatch  of  tiic 
8th  February,  1831,  No.  XXII.,  the  Earl  of  Ripon  explained  to 
Lord  Aylmcr  the  course  of  proceeding  wlucli  had  been  adopt- 
ed for  asserting  the  independence  of  tiie  judges  in  tliis  king- 
dom, and  signified  to  the  governor  his  Majesty's  commands 
to  avail  himself  of  the  earliest  opportunity  for  proposing  to  the 
legislative  council  and  assembly  of  Lower  Canada,  the  enact- 
ment of  a  bill  declaring  that  the  commissions  of  all  the  judges 
of  the  supreme  courts  should  be  granted  to  endure  their  good 
behaviour,  and  not  during  the  royal  pleasure;  and  Lord  Ayl- 
mer  was  farther  instructed,  in  the  name  and  on  the  behalf  of 
his  Majesty,  to  assent  to  a  bill  for  carrying  that  oViject  into  ef- 
fect. Lord  Ripon,  however,  declared  it  to  be,  of  course,  an 
essential  condition  of  this  arrangement,  that  "an  adequate  and 
permanent  provision  should  be  made  for  the  judges."  It  re- 
mains to  state  the  result.  A  bill  was  passed  by  the  house  of 
assembly,  by  which,  indeed,  the  tenure  of  the  judicial  office 
was  made  to  depend  on  the  good  behaviour  of  tiic  judges,  and 
by  which  a  provision,  adequ  .ic  in  amount,  was  made  for  them. 
But  that  provision  was  so  granted  as  to  be  liable  to  be  di- 
minished or  taken  away  by  the  annual  votes  of  the  house  of 
assehiljly.  To  this  measure,  so  popular  in  its  general  charac- 
ter or  pretensions,  were  also  "  tacked  "  (to  adopt  the  usual 
parliamentary  phrase)  clauses  by  which  a  right  to  dispose  of 
the  territorial  revenue  of  the  Crown  was  assorted,  and  by 
which  all  the  public  officers  in  the  colony, — the  governor 
himself  not  being  expressly  excepted — wore  made  amenable 
to  a  tribunal,  to  be  constituted  for  the  trial  of  all  impeachments 
preferred  by  the  representatives  of  the  pfople.  Such  was  the 
return  made  to  an  act  of  grace,  which  the  Canada  Committee 
themselves  hud  expressly  dissuaded.  To  have  acquiesced  in 
it  would  have  involved  a  sacrifice  of  whatever  is  due  to  the 
dignity  of  the  King,  and  to  the  liberties  of  his  Majesty's  sub- 
jects. His  Majesty's  assent  was,  therefore,  witliholdcn,  though 
not  without  the  expression  of  the  deepest  regret,  and  the  most 
distinct  offer  to  assent  to  any  other  bill  for  establishing  the  in- 
dependence of  the  judges  which  should  be  exempt  from  such 
objections.    The  house  of  assembly,  however,  have  never  since 


OF  CANADA. 


163 


tendered  an  act  of  that  nature  for  the  acceptance  of  his  Majes- 
ty, or  of  his  Majesty's  representative  in  the  province. 

Fourthly.  The  next  topic  is  that  of  the  composition  of  the 
legislative  and  executive  councils,  respecting  which  the  fol- 
lowing suggestions  occur  in  the  report  of  1828 ; — "  One  "  (it  is 
said)  "of  the  most  important  subjects  to  which  their  inquiries 
have  been  directed,  has  been  the  state  of  the  legislative  coun- 
cils in  both  the  Canadas,  and  the  manner  in  which  ihcse  assem- 
blies have  answered  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  insti- 
tuted. Your  committee  strongly  recommend  that  a  more  in- 
dependent character  should  be  given  to  these  bodies;  that  the 
majority  of  their  members  should  not  consist  of  persons  holding 
offices  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Crown;  and  that  any  other  mea- 
sures that  may  tend  to  connect  more  intimately  this  branch  of 
the  constitution  with  the  interest  of  the  colonies,  would  be  at- 
tended with  tlie  greatest  advantage.  With  respect  to  the 
judges,  witii  the  exception  only  of  the  chief  justice,  whose 
presence  on  particular  occasions  might  be  necessary,  your 
committee  entertain  no  doubt  that  they  had  better  not  be  in- 
volved in  the  political  business  of  the  house.  Upon  similar 
grounds,  it  appears  to  your  committee  that  it  is  not  desirable 
that  judges  should  hold  seats  in  the  executive  council." 

With  what  scrupulous  exactness  these  recommoiidations 
have  been  followed,  will  now  be  shown.  With  respect  to  the 
judges,  Lord  Ripon,  in  the  despatch  of  the  8th  of  February  al- 
ready quoted,  conveyed  to  Lord  Aylmer  his  Majesty's  com- 
mands to  signify  to  the  legislative  council  and  assembly,  hid 
Majesty's  settled  purpose  to  nominate,  on  no  future  ocoasion, 
any  judge  as  a  member,  either  of  the  executive  or  of  the  legis- 
lative council  of  tiie  province.  It  was  added,  that  the  single 
exception  to  that  general  rule  would  be,  tliat  the  chief  justice 
of  Quebec  would  be  a  member  of  the  legislative  council,  in 
order  that  the  members  of  that  body  might  have  the  benefit  of 
his  assistance  in  framing  laws  of  a  general  and  permanent  cha- 
racter. But  his  Majesty  declared  his  purpose  to  recommend, 
even  to  that  high  officer,  a  cautious  abstinence  from  all  pro- 
ceedings, by  which  he  might  be  involved  in  any  political  con- 
tentions of  a  party  nature. 

U  was  not  in  tiie  power  of  the  Kmg's  government  to  remove 


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164 


THE  BUBBLES 


from  the  legielative  council  any  of  llio  judges  who  had  already 
been  appointed  to  be  members  of  that  body ;  because  the  terms 
of  the  constitutional  act  secure  to  them  the  enjoyment  of  their 
seats  for  life.  But  in  a  private  despatch  of  the  same  date,  the 
four  gentlemen  who  had  at  that  time  combined  the  judicial 
character  with  seats  in  the  council,  were  earnestly  exhorted  to 
resign  their  places  as  counsellors,  and  were  assured  that  no- 
thmg  should  be  wanting  to  rescue  them  from  any  possibility  of 
misconstruction,  as  to  the  motives  by  which  that  advice  iiad 
been  dictated  or  obeyed.  In  point  of  fact,  it  was  not  accepted : 
but  the  judges  unanimously  agreed  to  withdraw  from  all  active 
interference  in  the  business  of  the  council,  and  have  never 
since  attended  its  sittings.  The  ciiief  justice,  indeed,  as  was 
recommended  by  the  Canada  comniittoe,  forms  the  single  e.v- 
ception;  but  even  that  gentleman,  aa  far  as  the  information  of 
this  office  extends,  has  confined  iiis  interference  within  the  li- 
mits prescribed  to  him  by  the  comtniltec  and  by  the  Earl  of 
Ripon. 

The  principles  laid  down  by  the  committee  of  18'28,  for  re- 
gulating the  composition  of  the  legislative  council,  have  been 
not  less  strictly  pursued,  in  every  other  respect.  Since  the 
date  of  their  report,  eighteen  new  members  have  been  ap- 
pointed. Of  that  number  there  is  not  one  who  holds  any  office 
or  place  of  emolument  at  the  pleasure  of  the  crown,  or  who  is 
in  any  other  manner  dependent  upon  the  favours  of  his  Majes- 
ty, or  his  official  advisers.  Of  the  eighteen  new  members,  ten 
are  of  French  origin.  The  total  number  of  counsellors  is  thir- 
ty-five, of  whom  only  seven  hold  public  offices.  Amongst  them 
is  the  bishop  of  Quebec,  who  is,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  term, 
independent  of  the  crown.  The  chief  justice,  whose  depen- 
dence is  altogether  nominal,  is  another.  Of  the  whole  body  of 
thirty-five  members,  there  remain,  therefore,  but  five  over 
whom  the  executive  government  can,  with  any  reason  or 
plausibility,  be  said  to  possess  any  direct  influence. 

It  is,  therefore,  not  without  a  reasonable  confidence,  that  tiie 
words  in  which  the  committee  of  1828  suggest  the  proper  com- 
position of  the  legislative  council,  may  be  adopted  as  precisely 
descriptive  of  the  manner  in  which  it  is  actually  composed. 
"  A  more  independent  character "  has  been  given  to  that  body. 


\m. 


OF  CANADA. 


1G5 


Tho  "majority  of  the  members"  docs  not  consist  of  persons 
liolding  office  at  the  pleasure  of  tiie  crown."  This  branch  of 
the  constitution  has  been  connected  "more  intimately  with  the 
interests  of  the  province,"  by  the  addition  of  a  large  body  of 
independent  Canadian  gentlemen. 

But  the  case  may  be  carried  still  farther,  and  it  may  be 
shown  that,  in  respect  to  tho  councils,  the  efforts  of  Lord 
Aberdeen's  predecessors  have  loft  behind  them  the  advice  of 
the  Canada  committee.  The  executive  council  has  also  been 
strengthened  by  the  addition  of  three  members  of  French  ori- 
gin. A  seat  was  offered  to  Mr.  Neilson,  the  most  prominent  of 
the  delegates  from  the  house  of  assembly  of  1828,  and  to  M. 
Papineau,  the  speaker  of  that  house.  It  need  scarcely  be  said 
that  it  was  impossible  to  give  a  more  decisive  proof  of  the  wish 
of  the  ministers  of  the  crown,  tiiat  the  composition  of  the  Ca- 
nadian council  should  be  acceptable  to  the  great  majority  of 
the  people. 

Fifthly.  The  next  in  order  of  the  recommendations  of  that 
committee  relates  to  the  clergy  reserves,  a  subject  on  whicii 
they  employed  the  following  language: — "As  your  committee 
entertain  no  doubt  that  the  reservation  of  these  lands  in  mort- 
main is  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  improvement  of  the  colony, 
they  think  every  proper  exertion  should  be  made  to  place  them 
in  the  hands  of  persons  who  will  perform  upon  them  the  du- 
ties of  settlement,  and  bring  them  gradually  into  cultivation." 
Although  the  views  of  tiie  committee  were  thus  limited  to 
the  improvement  of  the  clergy  reserves,  the  government  ad- 
vanced to  the  redress  of  tlie  evil  indicated  in  the  report,  by  a 
meosure,  not  only  fur  more  decisive,  but  eminently  remarkable 
for  the  confidence  it  expressed  in  the  provincial  legislature. 
The  constitutional  act  Iiaving  authorized  his  Majesty,  with  the 
advice  of  tiie  legislative  council  and  assembly,  to  vary  or  re- 
peal any  of  the  provisions  therein  made  for  the  allotment  and 
appropriation  of  lands  for  the  support  of  the  Protestant  clergy, 
Lord  Ripon,  availing  himself  of  that  enactment,  proposed  that 
the  power  of  repeal  should  be  exercised  by  those  bodies,  and 
should  be  accompanied  with  a  declaration  that  the  reserved 
lands  should  merge  in  the  general  demesne  of  the  crown. 
The  object  of  this  proposal  was  to  bring  the  reserves  within  tho 
15 


"fi, 


'>- 


160 


THE   BUBBLES 


reach  of  the  general  rules,  under  which  all  the  waste  lands  of 
the  province  are  progressively  sold  to  the  highest  bidder.  To 
prevent  any  possible  misconception  of  the  views  of  his  Ma- 
jesty's government,  the  draft  of  a  bill  for  the  accomplishment 
of  this  design  was  transmitted  to  Lord  Aylmer,  with  instruc- 
tions to  give  ills  assent  if  such  a  law  should  be  presented  for 
his  acceptance.  To  obviate  the  risk  of  olTenco  being  given, 
by  suggesting  to  the  house  of  assembly  the  exact  language  as 
well  ns  the  general  scope  of  a  measure  to  originate  with  them, 
Lord  Aylmer  was  directed  to  proceed  with  ti>e  most  cautious 
observance  of  the  privileges  of  that  body,  and  of  all  the  consti- 
tutional forms.  Anticipating  the  contingency  of  the  measure 
being  adopted  in  substance,  but  with  variations  in  the  terms. 
Lord  llipon  farther  etatcd  that,  in  that  event,  the  bill  was  not 
to  be  rejected  by  the  governor,  but  was  to  bo  specially  re- 
served for  the  signification  of  iiis  Majesty's  pleasure. 

In  obedience  to  these  directions,  the  bill  was  introduced  into- 
tlie  house  of  assembly,  but  did  not  pass  into  a  law.  Tliat  it 
would  liave  effectually  removed  tlie  grievance  pointed  out  by 
the  Canada  committee,  has  not  been  disputed ;  nor  can  the  mi- 
nisters of  tlie  crown  be  held  in  any  sense  responsible  for  the 
continuance  of  an  evil  for  which  they  had  matured  so  complete 
n  remedy.  The  only  explanation  which  has  ever  been  given 
of  the  failure  of  the  proposal  is,  that  the  solicitor-general,  Mr. 
Ogden,  had  used  some  expressions,  whence  it  was  inferred  that 
Ills  Majesty's  government  would  reject  the  bill  if  altered  in  a 
single  word.  It  is  scarcely  credible,  that  this  should  be  an  ac- 
curate surmise  of  the  real  cause  of  the  lose  of  the  Clergy 
Lands  Appropriation  Bill.  It  is  not  to  be  believed  that  the  as- 
sembly of  Lower  Canada  would  have  rejected  an  unobjection- 
able proposal  for  the  redress  of  a  grievance  of  which  complaint 
iiad  been  long  and  loudly  made,  for  no  other  reason  than  that 
a  public  officer,  not  of  the  highest  rat^k  or  consideration,  had 
used  some  casual  expression,  in  which  the  ultimate  views  of 
his  Majesty's  advisers  were  inaccurately  explained.  T  the 
governor  application  could  have  immediately  been  made,  for 
more  authentic  information;  and,  in  fact,  the  tenour  of  the  de- 
spatch which  had  been  received  by  Lord  Alymer,  was  perfect- 
ly well  known  throughout  the  province  to  every  person  who 


OF  CANADA. 


1G7 


lijlt  any  interest  in  the  subject.  Tlic  measure  has  never 
since  been  revived ;  and  it  must  be  tlicret'ore  assumed,  that  the 
assembly  are  less  anxious  than  Lord  Ripon  supposed,  for  the 
removal  of  this  obstruction  to  agriculture  and  internal  im- 
provement. Be  that  as  it  may,  the  British  government  aro 
completely  absolved  from  the  rcponsibility  thrown  upon  them 
hy  this  part  of  the  report  of  the  Canada  committee. 

»Si,\thIy.  That  body  proceeding  to  other  subjects  connected 
with  the  wild  lands  of  the  province,  expressed  their  opinion 
that — "It  might  be  well  for  the  goveriuncnt  to  consider  who- 
Iher  the  crown  reserves  could  not  bu  pcnnanonlly  alienated, 
subject  to  some  fixed  modorato  reserved  payment,  either  iii 
money  or  in  grain,  as  might  be  demanded,  to  arise  out  of  the 
iirst  ten  or  fitleen  years  of  occupation."  Tiioy  add,  that  "  they 
arc  not  prepared  to  do  more  tlian  oiler  this  suggefction,  whicli 
appears  to  them  to  be  worthy  of  more  con.sidoraliou  than  it  b- 
in  their  power  to  give  to  it;  but  that  in  this  or  in  some  tsucla 
mode,  they  arc  fully  persuaded  the  lands  thus  reserved,  ouj;lil, 
without  delay,  to  be  permanently  disposed  of." 

In  pureuanccofthic  advice,  Lord  Ripon  directed  the  sale  of  the 
M'own  reserves  throughout  the  province,  as  opportunity  miglit 
ofler,  precisely  in  the  same  manner  as  any  otlier  part  of  thu 
royal  demesne.  The  system  has  undergone  an  entire  ciuuigo  . 
and  the  crown  reserves  considered  as  distinct  allotments,  left 
in  their  wild  state  to  draw  a  progrei.sive-increasing  value  from 
the  improvement  of  the  vicinity,  have  no  logger  any  existence. 

Seventhly.  Another  abuse  connected  with  the  wild  lands  of 
Lower  Canada  was  noticed  by  the  committee,  in  the  following- 
language: — "One  of  the  obstacles  which  is  said  greatly  to  im- 
pede the  improvement  of  the  country,  is  the  practice  of  making- 
grants  of  land  in  large  masses  to  individuals,  who  had  held  otTi- 
cial  situations  in  the  colony,  and  who  had  evaded  the  condi- 
tions of  the  grant  by  which  they  were  bound  to  provide  for  its  cul- 
tivation, and  now  wholly  neglect  it.  Although  powers  have  been 
lately  acquired  by  the  government  to  estreat  those  lands,  and 
although  we  think  that,  under  certain  modifications,  this  power 
may  be  advantageously  used,  we  are,  nevertheless,  of  opinioa 
that  a  system  should  be  adopted  similar  to  that  of  Upper  Cana^ 


f;i 


.. .  i; 


*  ■  L 

1  Kt 


'     •'>'  til 


168 


TIIK  BUnnLES 


r 


w    ■} 


m 

ji 
1 

1 

ti 

n 

II 

|i 

II 

da,  by  the  levy  of  a  small  annual  duty  on  lands  remaining  un- 
improved and  unoccupied  contrary  to  the  conditions  of  the 
grant." 

The  remedial  measure  of  a  tax  on  wild  land,  which  is  sug- 
gested in  the  preceding  passage,  could,  of  course,  originate  only 
with  the  representatives  of  the  people,  and  tlie  house  of  assem- 
bly have  not  indicated  any  disposition  to  resort  to  that  mode  of 
taxation.  To  such  a  bill,  if  tendered  by  them,  his  Majesty's 
assent  would  have  been  chccvfully  given.  Yet  the  King's  go- 
vernment did  not  omit  to  avail  thcinsolves  of  all  those  reme- 
dial powers  with  which  the  Crown  is  intrusted.  It  is  little  to 
say  (though  it  may  be  stalrd  with  the  strictest  truth,)  tluit 
since  the  date  of  the  report,  tlio  system  reprobated  by  the  com- 
mittee, of  granting  land  in  large  masses  to  individuals,  has 
been  entirely  discontinued.  It  is  more  material  to  add,  that 
this  cliangc  in  practice  is  the  result  of  a  series  of  regulations 
established,  on  Lord  llipnn's  advice,  in  Lower  Canada,  and  in- 
deed throughout  all  the  ot'icr  llritisli  colonies.  The  system  of 
gratuitous  dnnaticui-  of  laii  ;  has  been  abandoned  absolutely  and 
universally;  and  during  the  last  three  years  all  such  property  has 
bccndispoi^od  of  by  I'ublic  auction  to  the  highest  bidder,  olsuch 
a  minimuic  price  ns  to  ensure  the  public  at  large  against  the 
waste  of  this  resource  by  nominal  or  fictitious  sales.  This  is 
not  the  occasion  for  vindicating  the  soundness  of  that  policy, 
which,  however,  if  necessary,  it  would  not  be  hard  to  vindicate. 
It  is  sufficient  for  the  immediate  purpose  of  this  miiuUc  to 
have  shown,  tliat  on  this,  as  on  other  topics,  the  ministers  of  the 
Cro'vn  did  not  confine  themselve.--  n)  a  servile  adiierencc  to 
the  move  letter  of  the  parliamentary  recommendation,  but  em- 
braced and  gave  the  fullest  effect  to  its  genuine  spirit. 

Eighthly.  The  committee  sought  to  relieve  the  province 
not  only  from  the  evils  of  improvident  reservations  and  grants 
of  wild  laiiils,  but  from  those  incident  to  the  tenures  on  which 
the  cultivated  districts  arc  holden.  The  following  passages 
on  this  subject  appear  in  ♦heir  report: — "They  do  not  decline 
to  offer  as  their  opinion,  that  it  would  be  advantageous,  that 
the  declaratory  enactment  in  the  Tenures  Act,  respecting 
lands  held  in  free  and  common  soccage,  should  be  retained." 
"  Your  committee  are  farther  of  opinion  that  means  should  be 


OF  CAN' ADA. 


1G9 


found  of  brinfjing  into  cfl'ectivc  operation  tho  clause  in  tlic  Te- 
tiurcs  Act,  which  provides  for  the  mutation  of  tenure :  and  tlioy 
entertain  no  doubt  of  the  inexpediency  of  retaining  the  seig- 
neurinl  rights  of  tho  crown,  in  the  hope  of  deriving  a  profit 
from  tliern.  The  sacrifice  on  tho  part  of  the  crouri  would  be 
trifling,  and  would  bear  no  proportion  to  the  benefit  that  would 
result  to  the  colony  from  such  a  concession."  "The  commit- 
tee cannot  too  strongly  expross  their  opinion,  that  the  Cana- 
dians of  Frencli  extraction  should  in  no  degree  be  didtiirboa  in 
the  peaceful  enjoyment  of  their  religion,  laws,  and  privileges?, 
as  secured  to  them  by  tho  I'rilith  acts  of  parliament;  and  so 
far  from  requiring  them  to  hold  lands  on  the  Uritish  tenure, 
they  think  that  when  the  lands  in  the  scignouries  arc  fully  oc- 
cupied, if  the  descendants  of  tho  original  settlers  shall  still  re- 
tain their  preference  to  the  tenure  of  Jirf  ct  licigufitric,  they 
see  no  objoction  to  other  portions  of  unoccupied  landrf  in  the 
province  being  granted  to  'hem  on  that  tenure,  provided  that 
such  lands  are  apart  from,  and  not  intermixed  with,  the  town- 
ships." 

The  British  government  are  again  entitled  to  claim  the  cre- 
dit of  having,  to  the  utmost  possible  extent,  regulated  their 
conduct  by  the  language,  and  still  more  by  the  spirit  of  this 
advice. 

No  application  has  been  made  for  the  creation  of  a  new 
iseigneurie,  as  indeed  the  period  contemplated  by  the  commit- 
tee, when  the  seigneuriul  lands  would  be  fully  occupied,  still 
seems  very  remote.  It  is  almost  superfluous  to  add,  that  no 
attempt  has  been  made  to  superinduce  upon  those  lands  any 
of  the  rules  of  the  law  of  England. 

Tho  crown  also  lias  been  prompt  to  bring  into  the  most  ef- 
fective operation  the  clause  of  the  Canada  Tenures  Act  which 
provides  for  the  mutation  of  tenures.  But  no  lord  or  censi- 
taire  having  hitherto  invoked  the  exercise  of  the  powers  of 
the  Crown,  they  have  of  necessity  continued  dormant.  Re- 
specting the  eoccagc  lands,  some  explanation  seems  neces- 
sary. 

The  general  principle  adopted  by  the  committee  in  the  pas- 
sago  already  quoted,  is  that  the  inhabitants,  both  of  French 
and  of  British  origin,  should  respectively  be  left  in  the  enjoy- 

15* 


t 


■I' 


I 

■1 

1 

!■ 

1 

i.i 

1    ':       < 

1 

'      " 

<  !i 

^r:i 


■.'Jf 


170 


TUB  DURKLES 


mcnt  of  tlio  law  regulating  the  tenures  of  their  lands  derived 
from  their  difTercnt  ancestors,  and  endeared  to  either  party,  by 
habit,  if  not  by  national  prejudices.    It  has  already  been  shown 
that  the  French  Canadians  have  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  this 
princifde  to  the  fullest  possible  extent.    In  the  anxiety  which 
has  been  felt  tu  nfratify  their  wishes,  it  may  not  be  quite  clear 
that  equal  justice  lias  been  rendered  to  the  inhabitants  of  Bri- 
tish descent.    The  maintenance  of  so  niucli  of  the  Canada 
Tenures  Act  as  rendered  the  soccago  lanu.^  inheritable  and 
transmissible  according'  to  En^jflish  law,  was  most  unequivocal* 
ly  recommended  in  the  extracts  already  mode  from  the  report. 
The  provincial  legislature,  however,  in  their  session  of  ISiiU, 
made  provision  for  the  conveyance  of  such  lands  in  a  manner 
repugnant  to  this  British  statute.  Of  course  his  Majesty  could 
not  bo  advised  to  assent  to  a  law  which  directly  contravened 
an  act  of  parliament.    Such,  however,  was  the  anxiety  of  the 
King's  ministers  to  avoid  every  needless  cause  of  jealousy,  thnt 
a  bill  (1  VV.  IV,,  c.  2i))  was  introduced  into  pailiatnrnt  by  Lord 
Hipon,  and  passed  into  a  law,  in  order  to  relieve  his  Majesty 
from  this  difficulty.  The  Canadian  Act  was  then  accepted.  Nur 
was  this  all.  Striving  to  multiply,  to  the  utmost  possible  extent, 
every  proof  and  cxjjression  of  respect  and  confidence  towards 
tiie  provincial  legislntnrn,  the  government  introduced  into  the 
British  statute,  which  has  been  last  mentioned,  a  farther  enact- 
ment, of  which  tiio  eflbct  was  to  absolve  the  Canadian  legisla- 
ture in  future  from  every  restraint  laid  upon  them,  by  any  act 
of  parliament  regulating  the  various  incidents  of  the  soccage 
tenure  in  the  province.    The  barriers  erected  for  the  defence 
of  the  British  settlers  by  tlic  caution  of  parliament  in  the  years 
1791  and  lH'2(i  were  thus  overthrown,   in  order  that  there 
might  be  the  fewest  possible  exceptions  to  the  principle  of  con- 
fiding to  the  Canadian  legislature,  the  regulations  of  the  in- 
ternal interests  of  Lower  Canada.     No  one  will  deny  that  this 
unsolicited  concession  was  made  in  the  spirit  of  the  most  large 
and  liberal  acceptance  of  the  advice  of  the  Canada  committee,  so 
Ibr  at  least  as  the  views  and  interests  of  the  dominant  majority 
f  the  house  of  assembly  are  concerned. 

Ninthly.  The  next  is  the  subject  of  the  Jesuits'  estates;  in 
reference  to  which  the  views  of  the  committee  of  1828  are  ex- 


OF  CANADA. 


171 


proBSod  as  follows:— With  respect  to  the  estates  which  former' 
ly  belonged  to  tliu  Jesuits,  your  conimiltco  lament  that  tiicy 
have  not  more  full  information.  But  it  nppcars  to  them  to  be 
desirable  that  the  piocceils  should  bo  applied  to  the  purposes 
of  general  education. 

Far  indeed  beyond  the  letter  of  tliid  advice  did  the  conccb- 
sions  moilo  by  his  Mnjcsty,  on  tho  advice  of  I/)rd  Ripon,  pro- 
ceed. Not  only  svoro  tho  Josuits'  cttatcs  "op|)licd  to  tho  pur- 
poses of  goncrnl  education,"  but  tho  provincial  Icyislaturc 
were  authorized  to  detcrniino  what  specific  purposes  of  that 
kind  should  be  preferred,  niid  tho  proceeds  of  tho  estates  were 
placed  for  that  purpose  unreservedly  under  their  control.  No 
suggestion  has  been  made  inipcuchini,'  the  fulness  of  this  con- 
cession, except  as  lur  ua  respects  certain  buildings  occupied 
for  half  a  century  past  ns  barracks.  Even  if  a  rent  sliould  bo 
payable  by  tlic  Crown  for  tho  use  of  Ihoao  bnrracks,  (tho  sin- 
gle question  ndniilting  of  debate,)  it  would  be  idle,  on  thot 
ground,  to  deny  eitiier  the  iniportuncc  of  the  conccasion  made, 
or  tho  almost  unbounded  confidence  in  the  house  of  assembly, 
perceptible  in  the  form  and  manner  in  which  the  crown  re- 
nounced to  thcii),  not  merely  a  proprietary  right,  but  even  an 
administrativo  function. 

Tenlhly.  To  tlio  pohilivc  rcconiniondations  which  have  al- 
ready been  considered,  succeeds  nnotlicr,  of  which  tho  end  is 
rather  to  dissuade  than  to  odviscj  tho  adoption  of  any  speci- 
fic measure.  "The  conmiittec  (it  is  said)  arc  desirous  of  re- 
cording the  principle  which,  in  their  judgment,  should  be  ap- 
plied to  any  alterations  in  the  constitutions  of  tho  Cunadas, 
which  were  imparted  to  them  under  the  formal  act  of  tho  Bri- 
tish legislature  of  1791.  That  principle  is  to  limit  the  altera- 
tions which  it  may  be  desirable  to  make,  by  any  future  British 
Acts,  as  far  as  possible,  to  such  points  as,  from  the  relation  be- 
tween the  mother  country  and  the  Canados,  can  only  be  dis- 
posed of  by  the  paramount  authority  of  the  British  legislature, 
and  they  are  of  opinion  that  all  other  changes  should,  if  possi- 
ble, be  carried  into  effect  by  the  local  legislature  themselves, 
in  amicable  communications  with  the  local  government. 

So  rigidly  has  this  principle  been  observed,  that  of  two  acts 
of  parliament  which,  since  1821,  have  been  passed  with  refe- 


it 


w 


Hi 


i  'f 


i  i 


I 


-if.  if ■' 

■■;,'! 


m 


m 


THE  BUBBLES 


i 


rence  to  the  internal  concerns  of  the  province,  the  common 
object  has  been  so  to  enlarge  the  authority  of  the  provincial 
legislature  as  to  enable  his  Majesty  to  make  witii  their  con- 
currence, laws  to  the  enactment  of  which  they  were  positively 
incompetent.  The  acts  in  question  are  tiiose  already  noticed, 
by  which  the  revenues  of  Geo.  III.  were  relinquished,  and  the 
regulation  of  soccage  tenures  was  transferred  to  the  governor, 
council,  and  assembly. 

Eleventhly.  "  The  committee"  (agaih  to  borrow  their  own 
words)  "  recommended,  for  the  future,  that  steps  sliould  be 
taken  by  official  securities,  and  by  a  regular  audit  of  accounts, 
io  prevent  the  recurrence  of  losses  and  inconveniences  to  the 
province,  similar  to  those  which  had  occurred  in  Mr.  Cald- 
well's case,"  and  "  as  connected  with  this  branch  of  the  in- 
quiry, they  recommended  that  precautions  of  the  same  nature 
should  be  adopted  with  regard  to  the  sheriffs." 

In  reference  to  these  suggestions.  Sir  George  Murray  pro- 
posed to  the  house  of  assembly,  and  Lord  Ripon  repeated  the 
proposal,  that  the  public  accountants  sliould  pay  their  balances, 
at  very  short  intervals,  into  the  hands  of  the  commissary-ge- 
neral, tendering  the  security  of  tlie  B  itish  treasury  for  the 
liunclual  re-payment  of  all  such  dcpositcs.     The  scheme  em- 
braced a  plan  for  a  regular  audit,  and  for  the  punctual  demand 
of  adequate  securities.     Sir  James  Kempt  and  Lord  Aylmer 
were  successively  instructed  to  propose  to  the  legislative  coun- 
cil and  assembly  tlie  enactment  of  such  a  law.     The  proposal 
was  accordingly  made  to  the  assembly  in  the  year  1829,  and 
was  rcpoated  in  tlie  year  1832.    On  each  occasion  it  was  the 
pleasure  of  the  house  to  pass  it  by  in  silence.     That  they  had 
good  reasons  for  their  conduct,  it  would  be  unjust  and  indeco- 
rous to  doubt.   Thos;;  reasons,  however,  remain  to  this  moment 
completely  unknown  to  the  executive  government,  who,  having 
exhausted  all  their  authority  and  influence  in  a  fruitless  attempt 
to  give  effect  to  this  part  of  the  Canada  committee's  recom- 
mendations, cannot,  with  any  reason,  be  held  responsible  if  they 
fitill  have  failed  to  produce  the  advantage  contemplated  to  the 
province  at  large.* 

*  Tlie  executive  governmeot  have  not,  however,  abstained  from  such  mea- 
sures as  were  witJiin  their  own  power.    They  have  established  a  tire-proof 


OF  CANADA. 


ll'S 


Twelftlily.  A  farther  recommendation  of  the  couiniiitce  is 
conveyed  in  the  report,  in  the  following  terms:  "Your  com- 
mittee also  bog  leave  to  call  the  particular  attention  of  the  go- 
vernment to  the  mode  in  which  juries  are  composed  in  the  Ca- 
nadas,  vvitii  a  view  to  remedy  any  defects  tliat  may  be  found  to 
exist  in  the  present  system." 

Here,  again,  the  government  pressed  upon  the  house  of  as- 
sembly the  importance  of  giving  eflcct  to  the  views  of  the 
committee;  and,  in  fact,  a  law  has  received  the  royal  assent, 
having  for  its  object  the  improvement  of  the  jury  system — an 
object  which  has  been  pursued  by  those  methods  which  the 
house  of  assembly  tiiemselves  devised  or  adopted. 

Thirteenthly.  The  report  proceeds  to  recommend,  "that  the 
prayer  of  the  Lower  Canadians  for  permission  to  appoint  an 
agent,  in  the  same  manner  as  agents  arc  appointed  by  other 
colonies  whicii  possess  local  legislatures,  should  be  granted." 

His  Majesty's  government  have  accordingly  repeatedly  au- 
thorized the  governor  to  assent  to  any  bill  which  might  be 
passed  for  that  purpose.  Ko  such  bill  has,  hovvevcr>  been  pre- 
sented for  Lord  Aylmer's  acceptance.  The  assembly,  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  advice  of  the  committee,  that  the  ha'>its  of  other 
colonies  should  be  followed  as  a  precedent,  have  chosen  to  no- 
minate, by  resolutions  of  that  house  alone,  gentlemen  deputed 
to  represent  them  in  this  kingdom,  but  who  have  not,  as  in 
other  colonies  possessing  legislative  assembles,  been  appointed 
by  an  act  of  the  entire  legislature. 

Fourteenthiy.  Upon  the  most  careful  perusal  of  the  report 
of  1828,  no  other  recommendations  can  be  found  addressed  lo 
the  King's  government,  although  the  committee,  addressing 
themselves  in  that  instance  rather  to  the  local  legislature,  have 

vault,  with  three  keys,  held  by  three  separate  oflicers  of  high  rank,  all  of 
whom  must  be  present  wliciiKVcr  it  is  opened :  and  they  haw  provided  that 
the  receiver-general  sliall  noi  hold  in  his  hands  any  balance  exceeding  X10,00(i 
without  depositing  it  in  this  vault ;  and  that  once  at  least  in  every  year  the 
contents  of  the  vault  simll  be  inspected,  er  reported  on,  by  five  persons  named 
hy  the  governor  for  the  purpose.  They  have  also  taken  security  from  the  re- 
ceiver-general to  the  extent  of  jEIO.OOO,  with  two  sufficient  sureties,  and  have 
required  him  to  render  statements  of  his  accounts  on  the  1st  January,  1st 
April,  Isl  July,  and  1st  October,  in  every  year. 


i 


t;  . 


It 


'■  'it 


i 


.;: 


M- 


'/■  rv' 


I!         M 

'f 


'.it?- 


'til.  If' 


■'  ih 


174 


THE  BUBBLES 


■I 


liPr 


I" 


advised  that  mortgages  should  be  special,  and  that  in  proceed- 
ings for  the  conveyance  of  lands,  the  simplest  and  least  expen- 
sive forms  of  conveyance  should  be  adopted,  upon  the  princi- 
ples of  the  law  of  England;  that  form  which  prevails  in  Up- 
per Canada,  being  probably,  under  all  circumstances,  the  best 
which  could  be  selected;  and  that  the  registration  of  deeds  re- 
lating to  soccago  lands,  should  be  established  as  in  Upper  Ca- 
'nada.  "In  addition,"  it  is  added,  " to  those  recommendations, 
it  appears  to  be  desirable  that  some  competent  jurisdiction 
should  be  established,  to  try  and  decide  causes  arising  out  of 
this  description  of  property;"  (lint  is  the  soccago  lands)  "and 
that  circuit  courts  should  be  instituted  witliin  the  townsiiip? 
for  the  same  purposes." 

In  these  passages  the  design  of  the  committee  was  to  admi- 
nister to  the  relief  of  the  settlers  of  Knglisli  origin,  and  their 
claims  were  pressed,  by  Sir  George  Murray,  on  tiic  attention 
of  the  assembly.  Some  advance  has  been  accordingly  made 
towards  the  establishment  of  a  registry  of  deeds,  and  of  local 
courts  in  the  townships.  Respecting  the  law  of  mortgages, 
and  the  forms  of  conveyancing,  it  docs  not  appear  that  tlie  as- 
sembly have  hitiierto  interposed  for  the  relief  of  tliat  part  of 
the  constituent  body. 

Concluding  at  this  point  the  comparison  between  the  advice 
tendered  to  the  government,  and  the  measures  adopted  in  pur- 
suance of  it,  it  may  be  confidently  asserted,  that  the  general 
statement  made  at  the  commencement  of  tliis  minute  has  been 
substantiated.  To  the  utmost  limit  of  their  constitutional 
powcrand  legitimate  influence,  successive  administrations  have 
earnestly  and  successively  laboured  to  carry  the  report  of 
i*?2?-*  into  complete  effect  in  all  its  parts.  It  has  already  been 
shown  with  how  cordial  an  acquiescence  that  report  was  re- 
ceived by  the  house  of  assembly,  with  what  liberal  eulogies 
the  talent,  the  patriotism,  the  knowledge,  and  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  Canadian  alFairp,  of  its  authors,  were  com- 
mended ;  how  that  document  was  hailed  as  the  faithful  inter- 
pretation of  the  wishes  and  wants  of  the  Canadian  people;  and 
liov/  the  British  government  were  called  upon  by  the  house  of 
assembly  to  look  to  that  report  as  their  guide  in  remedying  ex- 
}£ting  grievances,  and  obviating  difficulties  for  the  future. 


lave 
of 
)L'cn 
rc- 
ogics 
c  ac- 
com- 
inter- 
;  and 
se  nf 
ir  ex- 

o 

iture, 


OF    CANADA. 


175 


That  this  guide  should  have  been  studiously  followed,  that  its 
suggestions  should  have  been  invariably  construed  and  en- 
forced, with  no  servile  adherence  to  the  letter,  but  in  the  most 
liberal  acceptance  of  its  prevailing  spirit,  and  yet  that  such 
efforts  should  have  been  unavailing  to  produce  tiic  expected 
conciliation,  may  well  justify  the  deepest  regret  and  disappoint- 
ment. 

(Signed)  Aberdeen. 

The  perusal  of  this  triumphant  document  naturally 
suggests  two  reflections:  first,  that  the  faithful  exe- 
cution of  the  recommendations  of  the  committee  is 
much  more  entitled  to  our  approbation  than  the  re- 
commendations themselves;  and,  secondly,  that  the 
Canadian  assembly  were  not  to  be  satisfied  with  any 
ffmcession  whatever,  short  of  independence. 


Jit 


m\V 


17fl 


THE  liUBCLES 


LETTER  IX. 


li'/  V' 


As  the  memorials  adtlrosscd  to  government  by  tiic 
English  and  French  parties  were  at  variance  In  eve- 
ry material  point,  a  commission  of  inquiry,  of  which 
the  governor,  Lord  Gosford,  was  head,  was  sent  out 
to  Canada  in  1835.  Whether  this  commission  was 
necessary  or  not,  is  a  matter  with  which  I  have  no- 
thing to  do;  I  merely  mention  the  fact  as  illustrative 
of  the  earnest  desire  that  existed  to  compose  these 
unfortunate  difficulties,  and  to  ascertain  on  the  spot 
how  much  of  concession  could  he  made,  consistently 
with  retaining  the  sovereignty  of  the  country.  The 
commissioners  were  told  *'  Your  investigations  will 
have  for  their  common  object  the  advancement  of 
the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  Lower  Canada  by  all 
methods  compatible  with  the  integrity  of  the  empire, 
and  with  the  authority  of  the  King  as  supreme  in  all 
parts  of  the  Brit.ijn  dominions. 

"  You  will  ever  bear  in  mind  that  you  are  sent  on 
a  mission  of  peace  and  conciliation.  You  will  there- 
fore proceed  in  a  spirit  not  of  distrust,  but  of  confi- 
dence; remembering  that  much  of  your  success  will 
depend,  not  only  on  the  zeal,  ability,  and  fairness  of 
your  inquiries,  but  also  on  your  perfect  separation 
from  all  local  and  party  disputes,  and  on  the  unques- 
tionable frankness  and  impartiality  of  your  general 
conduct. 

"  You  will  observe,  that  the  legislature  of  Lower 
Canada  must  ultimately  be  the  instrument  through 


cula 

uttei 

the; 

poss 

the 

also! 


OF  CANADA. 


177 


which  any  benefits  resulting  from  your  mission 
must,  to  a  very  great  extent,  be  accomplished.  His 
Majesty  disclaims  the  intention  of  provoking  any  un- 
necessary parliamentary  interference  in  the  internal 
affairs  of  the  province.  To  mediate  between  ad- 
verse parties,  with  an  entire  respect  for  the  constitu- 
tional rights  common  to  them  all,  is  the  high  office 
appropriate  to  his  royal  station,  and  this  function  the 
King,  aided  by  your  inquiries  and  advice,  is  anxious 
on  the  present  occasion  to  perform." 

The  governor  was  told  by  Lord  Cxlenelg,  "  your 
lordship  therefore  proceeds  to  Canada  to  advocate  no 
British  interest,  and  to  secure  no  selfish  ends.  To " 
maintain  the  peace  and  integrity  of  the  empire,  and 
to  mediate  between  contending  parties,  by  whom 
those  blessings  have  been  endangered,  is  the  high 
and  honourable  trust  confided  to  you." 

Every  thing  that  was  tangible  in  the  celebrated 
ninety-two  resolutions,  was  put  into  shape,  and  sepa- 
rately commented  upon  for  his  guidance. 

1.  It  is  alleged,  observes  his  Lordship,  that  the  pa- 
tronage of  his  Majesty's  government  in  Lower  Ca- 
nada has  been  exercised  in  such  a  manner  as  to  ex- 
clude the  Canadians  of  French  descent,  not  only  from 
the  larger  number,  but  from  all  the  more  lucrative 
and  honournble  of  the  public  employments  in  their 
native  country.* 

*  Had  his  Lordship  thougl-t  prop  r  to  have  entered  Into  parti- 
ctilars,  he  might  have  compiled  the  following  table,  to  sho>^  how 
utterly  false  this  accusation  was.  He  might  also  have  stated  that 
the  appointments  contained  in  this  table  were  made  under  every 
possible  disadvantage,  in  consequence  of  the  avowed  hostility  of 
the  French  to  the  government  and  institutions  of  the  English,  and 
also  from  the  extreme  difficulty  of  finding  persons  among  them 
16 


H 


V. 


X 


"ii 


'It 


^'1 


w 


fitf 


178 


THE  BUBBLES 


The  abuse  of  patronage  is  said  to  extend  still  far- 
ther; some  persons  are  represented  as  having  been 
preferred  to  ofHces,  in  performing  the  duties  of 
which  they  are  unable  to  communicate,  except 
through  an  interpreter,  with  the  great  body  of  those 
with  whom  their  affairs  are  to  be  transacted.  Other 
successful  candidates  for  office  are  represented  as  per- 
sons who  have  made  themselves  justly  offensive  to 
the  house  of  assembly;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
employments  created  at  the  instance  of  that  house 
with  a  view  to  public  improvements,  have,  it  is  al- 
leged, been  studiously  denied  to  those  whom  the  go- 
vernor had  reason  to  believe  would  be  most  accepta- 
ble to  the  assembly. 


competent  to  discharge  the  duties  assigned  to  them,  and  might 
have  illustrated  the  last  assertion  by  retei-ence  to  the  fact  that 
out  of  two  grand  juries  at  this  time  at  Montreal,  only  one  person 
was  found  that  could  write  his  name.  Of  the  last  seven  hundred 
and  thirty-eight  appointments  the  proportion  stood  thus: — 


Of  French  origin        . 
Of  British  and  Foreign 

557 
181  • 

• 

Of  French  origin  appointed: — 
To  Legislative  Council 
To  Executive  Council 
To  other  offices  of  profit 

738 

J. 

18 
5 
29  [having  held  in  all  S5  of- 
—     fices. 

Of  British  or  Foreign  appointed 
To  the  Legislative  Council 
To  the  Gxectitive 
To  olher  office.. 

52  persons. 

11 
8 
18  [having  held  in  all  22  of- 
fices. 

OP  CANADA. 


179 


It  would  be  scarcely  possible  to  find  any  terms 
more  emphatic  than  those  employed  by  the  Earl  of 
Ripon,  to  enjoin  the  utmost  impartiality  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  public  offices  in  Lower  Canada,  without 
reference  to  national  or  political  distinctions,  or  to 
any  considertaion,  except  that  of  superior  capacity 
and  fitness  for  the  trust.     I  adopt  my  predecessor's 
instructions  in  their  fullest  extent;  I  concur  with  him 
in  thinking  that  personal  merit  and  skill,  or  know- 
ledge, qualifying  a  candidate  for  the  vacant  trust,  are 
the  chief  circumstances  to  which  the  governor  of  the 
province  must  have  regard;  and  that  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  offices,  it  is  impossible  to  adhere  with  any 
minute  exactness  to  the  rule  which  the  numerical 
proportion  subsisting  between  the  two  races  might 
afford.     But  your  lordship  will  remember  that  be- 
tween persons  of  equal  or  not  very  dissimilar  pre- 
tensions, it  may  be  fit  that  the  choice  should  be  made 
in  such  a  manner  as  in  some  degree  to  satisfy  the 
claims  which  the  French  inhabitants  may  reasona- 
bly urge  to  he  placed  in  the  enjoyment  of  an  equal 
share  of  the  royal  favour.     There  are  occasions  also 
on  which  the  increased  satisfaction  of  the  public  at 
large  with  an  appointment,  might  amply  atone  for 
some  inferiority  in  the  qualifications  of  the  persons 
selected.     To  take  the  most  efiectual  security  in  his 
Majesty's  power  against  the  recurrence  of  any  abuse 
in  the  exercise  of  this  part  of  his  delegated  authority 
in  Lower  Canada,  the  King  is  pleased  to  command 
that,  in  anticipation  of  any  vacancies  which  may  oc- 
cur in  the  higher  offices  in  that  province,  and  espe- 
cially in  all  judicial  offices,  your  lordship  "should 
from  time  to  time  transmit  to  the  Secretary  of  State, 


Ih 


fej     ,: 


V  . 


I'' I 
: 


111 


'II 


f-^'^. 


til  I , 


ij 


'< 


\\ 


■,^'\] 


jlfi.] 


180 


THE  BUBBLES 


« 


III 
li 

It] 


IS 


i 


j  ltd 


4  *■  I 


ill 

'¥1  IHi 


for  his  Majesty's  consideration,  the  names  of  any 
gentlemen  resident  in  Lower  Canada,  whom  you 
may  think  best  qualified  to  perform  such  trusts  with 
advantage  to  the  public.  His  Majesty  proposes  to 
authorize  the  nomination,  as  opportunity  may  occur, 
of  the  persons  so  to  be  submitted  for  his  choice, 
having  regard  to  such  representations  as  he  may  re- 
ceive from  your  lordship,  or  from  any  other  ade- 
quate authorities  respecting  the  competency  of  such 
persons  to  the  public  service.  His  Majesty  is  farther 
pleased  to  direct  that  all  offices  in  the  gift  of  the 
king,  of  which  the  emolument  shall  amount  to  or  ex- 
ceed 200/.  per  annum,  shall  be  granted  under  the 
public  seal  of  the  province,  in  pursuance  of  warrants 
to  be  issued  by  his  Majesty  for  that  purpose;  and 
that,  except  when  the  successful  candidate  shall  have 
been  previously  approved  by  his  Majesty  in  the  man- 
ner already  mentioned,  he  should  be  informed  that 
his  appointment  is  strictly  provisional,  until  his  Ma- 
jesty's pleasure  could  be  known.  The  control  which 
it  is  thus  proposed  to  establish  over  the  hitherto  un- 
limited powers  of  the  governor,  is  not  designed  and 
will  not  be  used  as  a  means  of  securing  to  his  Majes- 
ty's confidential  advisers  in  this  kingdom  any  bene- 
ficial patronage  whatever.  I  have  already  expressed 
my  entire  approbation  of  the  system  hitherto  ob- 
served, of  considering  public  employments  in  Lower 
Canada  as  properly  appropriate  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  province.  Without  giving  a  pledge  against  any 
deviation  from  that  rule  in  any  solitary  case  (for  such 
pledge  might  in  the  event  prove  embarrassing  to  all 
parties,  and  prejudicial  to  the  welfare  of  the  province,) 
I  can  yet  have  no  difficulty  in  acknowledging  the 


I" 

ft'i 


OF  CANADA. 


181 


rule  as  a  general  maxim  from  which  no  departure 
should  be  admitted,  unless  on  grounds  so  peculiar  as 
plainly  to  justify  the  exception. 

It  has  also  been  represented  that  in  some  cases 
the  same  individual  is  charged  with  numerous  of- 
fices of  which  the  duties  are  incompatible,  either 
by  creating  a  larger  demand  on  the  time  of  the  of- 
ficer than  any  one  man  is  able  to  meet,  or  by 
placing  him  in  situations  of  which  the  appropriate 
functions  clash  and  interfere  with  each  other. 
From  the  generality  of  the  terms  in  which  this 
complaint  has  been  made,  it  has  not  been  in  my 
power  to  ascertain  the  extent  or  reality  of  this 
grievance;  but  in  whatever  degree  it  may  be  found 
to  exist,  your  lordship  will  understand  that  his  Ma- 
jesty expects  that  it  should  be  completely  re- 
medied: that  all  persons  occupying  any  such  in- 
compatible employments  should  be  called  upon  to 
renounce  such  as  they  cannot  efiicienlly  execute; 
and  that  in  future  the  general  rule  must  be,  that  no 
person  should  be  intrusted  with  any  office  of  which 
he  cannot  discharge  the  proper  duties  with  due 
punctuality  and  method  in  his  own  person. 

2.  Complaint  is  made  of  an  unjust  partiality  in 
favour  of  the  use  of  the  English  language  in  all  of- 
ficial acts.  The  foundation  of  this  complaint  ap- 
pears to  be,  that  thirteen  years  ago  a  bill  for  the 
imion  of  the  two  Canadas  was  brought  into  Par- 
liament by  the  then  government,  which,  had  it 
passed  into  a  law,  would  have  made  English  the 
single  official  language  of  both.  I  have  no  motive 
for  defending  a  scheme  which  was  rejected  by  the 
house  of  commons.    A  case  is  also  said  to  have 

IG* 


I"    11:1 


182 


THB  DUBBLCS 


occurred  at  the  distance  of  about  eleven  years 
since,  in  which  the  judges  refused  to  entertain  an 
action,  because  some  part  of  the  proceedings  had 
been  written  in  the  French  language.  This  i?  ad- 
mitted to  be  an  isolated  case;  and  it  is  aoVnow- 
ledged  that  neither  in  the  courts  of  law  nor  in  the 
legislature  is  any  preference  of  one  language  over 
the  other  reaHy  shown.  I  therefore  do  not  find  any 
grievance  on  this  subject  susceptible  of  a  remedy; 
nor  is  it  in  my  power  to  strengthen  the  injunctions 
of  Lord  Ilipon,  on  the  impropriety  of  any  such  pre- 
ference of  the  English  over  the  French  tongue.  As, 
however,  the  complaint  has  been  again  urged  by 
the  house  of  assembly,  your  lordship  will  take  the 
earliest  opportunity  of  assuring  ihem,  that  his  Ma- 
jesty disapproves,  and  is  desirous  to  discourage  and 
prevent  to  the  utmost  of  his  power,  the  adoption  of 
any  practice  which  would  deprive  either  class  of 
his  subjects  of  the  use  in  their  official  acts  of  that 
tongue  with  which  early  habits  and  education  may 
have  rendered  them  most  familiar.  Your  lordship 
will  signify  your  willingness  to  assent  to  any  law 
which  may  give,  both  to  the  French  and  the  Eng- 
lish inhabitants,  the  most  ample  security  against 
any  such  prejuoiice. 

3.  Reference  has  been  made  to  certain  rules  of 
court  made  by  the  judges,  of  which  the  earliest 
have  been  in  force  for  thirty-four  years,  and  the 
latest  for  nineteen ;  and  which  are  said  to  be  illegal ; 
and  even  to  amount  to  a  violation  of  the  faith  of 
treaties,  and  of  the  pledges  of  the  King  and  parlia- 
ment. It  is  admitted,  that  until  the  year  1834, 
those  rules  had  been  followed,  without  any  com- 


V  "lilV 


iiili, 


or  OAKADA. 


183 


plaint  having  been  preferred  to  his  Majesty's  go- 
vernment: I  can,  indeed,  undertake  to  say,  that 
until  the  fact  was  stated  in  evidence  before  the  Ca- 
nada committee  of  last  year,  (he  existence  of  such 
rules  was  altogether  unknown  in  this   country. 
Here,  as  on  so  many  other  topics,  I  am  compelled 
to  revert  to  the  instructions  of  the  Earl  of  Ripon, 
and  to  instruct  your  lordship  to  renew  the  proposal 
which  he  authorized  Lord  Aylmer  to  make  to  the 
provincial  legislature,  that  a  commission  should  be 
appointed  to  revise  any  rules  of  court  made  by  the 
judges;  and  that  on  the  report  of  such  a  co'  mission, 
all  such  rules  as  are  either  contrary  to  1..  .  or  inex- 
pedient should  be  revoked.     I  am  not  less  solicitous 
than  my  predecessor,  that  such  an  inquiry  should  be 
made  to  embrace  all  the  practice  and  proceedings 
of  the  superior  tribunals,  with  a  view  to  rendering 
them  more  prompt  and  methodical,  and  less  ex- 
pensive.     If  the  house  of  assembly  should   think 
that  these  objects  can  be  better  effected  by  any 
other  method  than  that  of  a  commission  of  inquiry, 
you  will   concur  with   them   in   carrying  it   into 
eflfect. 

4.  It  is  said  that  exorbitant  fees  have  been  ex- 
acted in  some  public  offices.  I  have  met  with  no 
proof  or  illustration  of  this  statement.  You  will, 
however,  acquaint  the  house  of  assembly  that  his 
Majesty  will  be  happy  to  concur  with  them  in  the 
revision  of  the  fees  of  every  office  in  thu  province 
without  exception,  and  in  the  appointment,  should 
they  think  it  expedient,  of  a  commission  of  inquiry 
for  the  purpose.  His  Majesty  has  no  wish  on  the 
subject,  but  that  the  remuneration  of  all  public  of- 
ficers, from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  should  be  so 


M' 


M 


i 


^^^< 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


Iti|2j8     12.5 
^  Uii    |22 


u 


140 


J2j0 


11:25  ||||U|J4 

^ 

6"     

► 

Hiotograiiiic 

ScMioes 

Corporalion 


as  WBT  MAIN  STRUT 

WIISTIR,N.Y.  MStO 

(716)173-4503 


184 


THB  fiUBBLES 


regulated  as  to  provide  for  the  efficient  discharge 
of  the  public  service;  au  object  which  cannot  be  se- 
cured without  a  fair  remuneration  to  the  persons 
employed  by  the  public. 

5.  A  complaint  is  made  of  the  practice  of  calling 
upon  the  judges  for  extra-judicial  opinions  on  public 
questions.  Here  again  I  know  not  how  to  reduce 
the  general  statement  to  any  specific  form ;  I  can 
therefore  advance  no  farther  than  to  lay  down,  for 
your  lordship's  guidance,  the  general  rule,  «Hat  you 
do  not  call  upon  the  judges  for  their  opinion  on  any 
question  which,  by  the  most  remote  possibility,  may 
subsequently  come  before  them  for  decision.  I 
should  scarcely  hesitate  to  interdict  the  practice  of 
consulting  them,  altogether  and  without  a  solitary 
exception,  if  I  did  not  remember  that  there  are 
public  contingencies  in  which  the  King  would,  for 
the  common  good  of  his  subjects,  be  bound  to  take 
counsel  with  his  judges.  Such  casesi  however, 
will  be  exceedingly  infrequent,  and  will  arise  only 
upon  some  of  those  great  emergencies  for  which  it 
is  scarcely  possible,  or  even  desirable,  that  any  de- 
finite provision  should  be  made  beforehand.  To 
protect  the  independent  exercise  of  the  judicial  of- 
fice, not  only  against  just  censure,  but  even  against 
the  breath  of  suspicion,  will  be  amongst  your  con- 
stant studies  and  most  anxious  endeavours. 

0.  Complaint  is  made  of  the  interference  of  the 
government  and  the  legislative  council  in  the  elec- 
tion of  members  of  the  assembly.  With  this  gene- 
ral charge,  I  can  deal  only  in  terms  equally  gene- 
ral. If  any  such  practice  prevailed,  of  which,  how- 
ever, there  is  no  proof  before  me,  your  lordship  will 
avoid  with  the  utmost  care  every  approach  to  it.   I 


OF  OAWADA. 


185 


acknowledgCi  without  any  reserve  or  limitation,  the 
duty  of  the  executive  government  of  Lower  Canada 
to  abstain  altogether  from  interference,  direct  or  in- 
direct, in  the  choice  of  the  representatives  of  the 
people;  such  an  encroachment  on  the  principles  of 
the  constitution  would  be  unattended  even  with  a 
plausible  prospect  of  temporary  advantage.  I 
earnestly  hope  that  the  assembly  were  misinformed 
as  to  the  existence  of  any  such  practices;  for  I  am 
well  convinced,  that  it  is  by  very  difierent  methods 
that  the  legitimate  authority  and  influence  of  the 
King's  government  in  Canada  is  to  be  maintained. 
7.  1  have  read,  not  without  deep  concern,  the 
language  in  which  the  house  of  assembly  have 
spoken,  in  their  ninety-two  resolutions,  of  the  con- 
duct of  the  troops  during  the  elections  at  Mon- 
treal :  it  is  described  as  a  sanguinary  execution  of 
the  citizens  by  the  soldiery.  Anxious  as  I  am  to 
conciliate,  by  all  just  concessions  the  favourable  re- 
gard of  the  house,  I  am  bound,  by  the  strict  obli- 
gations of  justice  to  the  British  army,  to  protest 
against  the  application  of  such  language  to  any 
part  of  a  body,  not  less  distinguished  by  their  hu- 
manity and  discipline,  than  by  their  gallantry.  The 
house  had  appointed  a  committee  to  inquire  into 
those  proceedings,  and  had  not  received  the  report 
of  the  committee  when  they  proceeded  to  pro- 
nounce this  censure  on  the  conduct  of  his  Majesty's 
troops.  The  officers  had  been  indicted  before  a 
grand  jury  of  the  country,  and  the  bills  had  been 
thrown  out  for  want  of  evidence.  In  assuming  to 
themselves  the  power  to  inquire,  the  assembly  ex< 
ercised  their  legitimate  privileges  in  passing  a  sen- 
tence of  condemnation  pending  that  inquiry,  and  in 


,.  !i  • 


:.r 


;   ! 


r !  i-  I 


lil 


^L 


186 


THE  BUBBLES 


direct  opposition  to  the  finding  of  the  proper  legal 
tribunal,  they  exceeded  their  proper  authority,  and 
acted  in  opposition  to  the  parliamentary  usages  of 
this  country.  Nor  can  I  receive  such  an  unautho- 
rized expression  of  opinion  with  that  deference 
which  it  is  my  duty^'and  inclination  to  show  for 
every  judgment  of  the  house,  falling  within  the  ap- 
propriate sphere  of  their  deliberation. 

8.  The  assembly  farther  complain  that  there  is 
no  method  by  which  legal  demands  against  the 
government  can  be  enforced  in  the  province.  In 
the  absence  of  any  distinct  proof  or  illustration  of 
the  fact,  I  can  only  express  his  Majesty's  desire 
that  effectual  means  may  be  taken  for  remedying 
this  alleged  defect  in  the  law. 

9.  The  too  frequent  reservation  of  bills  for  the  sig- 
nification of  his  Majesty's  pleasure,  and  the  delay 
in  communicating  the  King's  decision  upon  them, 
is  a  grievance  of  which  my  inquiries  lead  me  to  be- 
lieve the  reality.  Your  lordship  will  understand 
that  the  power  of  reserving  bills,  granted  by  the 
Constitutional  Act  of  1791,  is  an  extreme  right,  to 
be  employed  not  without  much  caution,  nor  ex- 
cept on  some  evident  necessity.  You  will  also  have 
the  goodness  to  remember  the  indispensable  neces-- 
sity  of  transmitting,  with  the  least  possible  delay, 
the  transcript  of  every  law  of  which  the  operation  is 
suspended,  for  the  signification  of  the  royal  pleasure; 
and  of  accompanying  every  such  transcript  with 
such  full  and  minute  explanations  as  may  be  neces- 
sary for  rendering  the  scope  and  policy  of  them 
perfectly  intelligible,  and  for  explaining  the  motives 
by  which  your  lordship  may  have  been  influenced 
in  declining  to  give  your  decision  in  the  first  in- 


ri( 


OF  CAIfADA. 


187 


Stance.  You  will  pledge  his  Majesty's  government 
in  this  country  to  the  most  prompt  and  respectful  at- 
tention to  every  question  of  this  nature  which  may 
be  brought  under  their  notice. 

10.  My  predecessors  in  office  are  charged  with 
having,  on  various  occasions,  neglected  to  convey 
to  the  house  his  Majesty's  answers  to  the  addresses 
presented  to  him  by  that  body.  Whether  this  state- 
ment could  be  verified  by  a  careful  examination 
of  any  particular  cases,  I  am  unable  to  state  with 
certainty;  nor  on  such  a  subject  is  it  fit  to  make  a 
conjectural  statement.  Your  lordship  will,  how- 
ever, assure  the  house,  that  his  Majesty  has  been 
pleased  to  command,  in  the  most  unqualified  terms, 
that  every  communication  that  either  branch  of  the 
provincial  legislature  may  see  fit  to  make  to  him, 
be  laid  before  his  Majesty  immediately  on  its  arri- 
val in  this  kingdom,  and  that  his  Majesty's  answer 
be  conveyed  to  the  province  with  the  utmost  pos- 
sible despatch.  The  King  cannot,  however,  forget 
that  the  delay  which  may  occasionally  have  taken 
place  in  making  known  in  the  province  his  Majes- 
ty's decision  upon  reserved  bills,  or  upon  addresses 
from  either  house  of  general  assembly,  may  in  some 
instances  have  been  either  occasioned  or  prolonged 
by  circumstances  which  no  promptitude  or  zeal  in 
his  Majesty's  service  could  have  obviated  ;  as,  for 
example,  the  rigour  of  the  Canadian  climate  ob- 
structing, during  a  certain  period  of  the  year,  the 
direct  approach  to  Quebec  and  Montreal,  and  the 
imperfect  nature  of  the  internal  communications 
through  his  Majesty's  dominions  in  North  Ame- 

. ,  U.  Much  complaint  is  made  of  the  refusal  of  in- 


;  I 


I 


!  I 


I'll) 


%\ 


I  m 


'l|! 


!■>' 


*!      i 


m 


186 


THE  BUBBLES 


formation,  for  which  the  house  of  assembly  have  at 
different  times  applied  to  the  governor  of  the  pro- 
vince. After  a  careful  examination  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  latest  session  in  which  any  such  appli- 
cations were  made,  I  have  not  been  able  to  avoid 
the  conclusion  that  there  is  just  ground  for  the  com- 
plaint.  I  do  not  perceive  that  any  advantage  would 
arise  from  entering  in  this  place  into  a  very  exact 
survey  of  the  communications  between  the  house 
and  the  governor  respecting  the  production  of  pa- 
pers.   It  is  more  useful,  with  a  view  to  the  future, 
to  state  the  general  principle  by  which  your  lord- 
ship will  be  guided.    I  think,  then,  that  the  corre- 
spondence between  your  lordship  and  the  secretary 
of  state  cannot  be  considered  as  forming  part  of 
those  documents  of  which  the  assembly  are  entitled 
to  demand,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  unreserved 
and  universal  inspection  or  perusal.    In  the  official 
intercourse  between  his  Majesty  and  his  Majesty's 
representative  in  the  province,  conducted  as  such 
intercourse  necessarily  is,  through  the  intervention 
of  the  ministers  of  the  crown,  much  confidential 
communication  must   necessarily  occur.      Many 
questions  require  to  be  debated  copiously,  and  in  all 
the  various  lights  in  which  they  may  present  them- 
selves to  the  governor  or  to  the  secretary  of  state: 
and  in  such  a  correspondence  it  is  necessary  to  an- 
ticipate emergencies  which  eventually  do  not  occur, 
to  reason  upon  hypothetical  statements,  and  even  to 
advert  to  the  conduct  and  qualifications  for  particu- 
lar employments  of  particular  individuals.    It  would 
be  plainly  impossible  to  conduct  any  public  aflfairs 
of  this  nature,  except  on  such  terms  of  free  and  un- 
restrained intercourse.    It  is  no  less  plainly  impossi- 


OF  CANADA. 


180 


ble  lo  give  general  publicity  to  such  communica- 
tions, without  needless  injury  to  the  feelings  of 
various  persons,  and  constant  impediment  to  the 
public  service.  A  rule  which  should  entitle  a  po- 
pular assembly  to  call  for  and  make  public  all  the 
despatches  passing  between  the  King's  government 
and  his  Majesty's  local  representative,  would  so  ob- 
struct the  administration  of  public  affairs,  as  to  pro- 
duce mischiefs  far  outweighing  the  utmost  possible 
advantage  of  the  practice. 

In  the  same  manner,  there  will  occasionally  be 
communications,  in  their  own  nature  confidential, 
between  the  governor  and  many  of  his  subordinate 
officers,  which  should  also  be  protected  from  general 
publicity. 

But  though  I  think  it  right  to  make  this  general 
reservation  against  the  unlimited  production  of  all 
public  documents,  I  am  ready  to  acknowledge  that 
the  restriction  itself  may  admit  and  even  require 
many  exceptions;  and  that  in  the  exercise  of  a  care- 
ful discretion,  the  governor,  as  often  as  he  shall 
judge  it  conducive  to  the  general  good  of  the  pro- 
vince, may  communicate  to  either  branch  of  the 
legislature  any  part  of  his  official  correspondence, 
such  only  excepted  as  may  have  been  expressly  de- 
clared or  manifestly  designed,  by  the  secretary  of 
state,  to  be  confidential. 

But  I  am  not  aware  of  any  other  document  con- 
nected with  the  public  affairs  of  the  province,  the 
concealment  of  which  from  the  assembly  would  be 
really  useful  or  justifiable ^  especially  whatever  re- 
lates to  the  revenue  and  expenditure  in  all  their 
17 


!  I, 


' 


I  ■ 


100 


THE  BUBBLES 


branches,  or  to  the  statistics  of  the  province,  should 
be  at  once  and  cheerfully  communicated  to  them. 
For  example,  it  will  be  desirable  to  make  to  the  two 
houses  such  a  communication  of  the  blue  books,  or 
annual  statistical  returns,  which  are  compiled  for  the 
use  of  this  department;  and  your  lordship  will  solicit 
the  assistance  of  the  two  houses  of  the  local  legisla- 
ture, in  rendering  those  returns  as  accurate  and  as 
comprehensive  as  possible.  In  short,  the  general 
rule  must  be  that  of  entire  freedom  from  reserve. 
The  particular  exception,  as  it  arises,  must  be  vindi- 
cated by  the  terms  of  the  preceding  instructions,  or 
by  some  explanation  sufficient  to  show  that  secrecy 
was  demanded,  not  for  the  protection  of  any  private 
interest,  but  for  the  well-being  of  the  province  at 
large.  In  every  case  in  which  the  production  of  any 
paper,  in  answer  to  any  address  of  either  house,  may 
be  refused,  your  lordship  will  immediately  transmit 
to  this  office  a  statement  of  the  case,  with  an  expla- 
nation of  the  grounds  of  your  decision. 

12.  The  occupation  as  a  barrack  of  the  buildings 
which  anciently  were  part  of  the  Jesuits'  college,  is 
strongly  reprobated  by  the  assembly.  I  can  only  re- 
mark that  this  exception  from  the  general  transfer 
of  the  Jesuits'  estates  to  their  disposal,  was  made  and 
vindicated  by  Lord  Hipon  on  a  ground  which  has 
rather  acquired  a  new  force,  than  lost  any  of  its  ori- 
nal  weight.  After  an  occupation  of  those  buildings 
for  this  purpose,  for  much  more  than  half  a  century, 
there  has  accrued  to  the  Crown  a  prescriptive  title, 
of  which,  however,  his  Majesty  has  never  sought  to 


n- 


OF  CANADA. 


101 


avail  himself.  The  King  is,  on  the  contrary,  anx- 
ious that  the  buildings  should  be  restored,  as  prompt- 
ly as  possible,  to  their  original  use;  nor  will  that 
measure  be  delayed  for  a  single  day,  after  other  and 
adequate  provision  shall  have  been  made  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  troops;  but  it  is  needless  to  re- 
mark that  his  Majesty  has  no  funds  at  his  disposal 
for  that  purpose.  The  proposed  transfer  of  all  the 
sources  of  local  revenue  to  the  house  of  assembly  has 
deprived  the  King  of  the  means  of  providing  for  this 
or  any  similar  service.  It  must  rest,  therefore,  with 
the  house  to  erect  or  purchase  other  barracks  suffi- 
ciently commodious  for  the  garrison,  upon  whicli 
the  board  of  ordnance  will  immediately  issue  the  ne- 
cessary instructions  for  evacuating  the  buildings  at 
present  occupied  for  that  purpose. 

13.  The  lease  of  the  forges  of  St.  Maurice  to  Mr. 
Bell  has  been  made,  and  is  now  irrevocable.  I  do 
not  conceal  my  regret,  that  this  property  was  not 
disposed  of  by  public  auction  to  the  highest  bidder. 
Whatever  arrangements  may  be  hereafter  settled  re  • 
specting  the  territorial  revenue,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  prevent  the  granting  of  any  crown  property  on 
lease  in  the  same  manner  by  private  contract,  and 
more  especially  when  the  contractor  is  a  member  of 
the  legislative  council. 

14.  Impediments  are  said  to  have  been  needlessly 
raised  to  the  endowment  of  colleges  by  benevolent 
persons.  I  fear  it  is  not  to  be  denied,  that  some  un- 
necessary delay  in  deciding  upon  bills  reserved  for 
bis  Majesty's  consideration,  having  such  endow- 


n  . 


o 


iv' 


..,      ^> 


192 


THE  BUBBLES 


merits  for  their  object,  did  occur:  a  dday  chiefly  at- 
tributable to  political  erents  and  tke  coneequent 
changes  of  the  colonial  administpation  in  this  king- 
dom. I  have  no  wish  to  withhold  a  frank  acknow- 
ledgment of  error,  when  really  due,  to  the  house  of 
assembly,  because  I  am  persuaded  that  in  that  frank- 
ness they  will  perceive  the  best  assurance  of  the  sin- 
cerity with  which,  on  behalf  of  the  ministers  of  the 
crown,  a  pledge  is  given  for  the  more  prompt  and 
exact  attention  hereafter  to  every  measure  which 
has  for  its  object  the  institution  in  the  province  of 
any  colleges  or  schools  for  the  advancement  of  Chris- 
tian knowledge  or  sound  learning. 

15.  On  the  subject  of  the  clergy  reserves,  of  which 
complaint  is  slill  made,  the  arrangements  proposed 
by  Lord  Ripen  leave  his  Majesty  nothing  farther  to 
concede.  The  whole  question  has  been  referred  to 
the  decision  of  the  provincial  legislature.  To  ob- 
viate misconceptions,  the  draft  of  a  bill  for  the  ad- 
justment of  the  claims  of  all  parties  was  framed 
under  his  lordship's  directions,  and  brought  into  the 
house  of  assembly.  Anticipating  the  possibility  that 
this  bill  might  undergo  amendments  in  its  progress 
through  the  two  houses,  materially  affecting  its  cha- 
racter, Lord  Ripon  had  instructed  the  governor,  in 
that  event,  not  to  refuse  his  assent,  but  to  reserve 
the  bill  for  the  signification  of  his  Majesty's  plea- 
sure. The  loss  of  the  bill  is,  however,  ascribed  to 
the  solicitor-general  having,  in  his  place  in  the  house, 
stated  that  no  amendment  would  be  permitted.  The 
solicitor-general's  expressions.  <n.ay  h.aye  been  mis> 


'  t 


•,  in 

eserve 

plea- 

)ed  to 

lOUse, 

The 

mis- 


Or  CANADA. 


1<)3 


understood;  but  if  this  was  their  purport,  not  only 
was  the  statement  unauthorized,  but  directly  at  va- 
riance with  the  spirit  of  the  instructions  of  the  home 
government.  I  much  regret  the  misapprehension, 
in  whatever  cause  it  may  have  originated.  It  may 
perhaps  be  ascribed  to  the  fact,  that  Lord  Aylmer 
did  not  think  himself  at  liberty  to  produce  to  the 
house  the  Earl  of  Ripon*s  despatches  on  the  subject. 
Your  lordship  will  immediately  communicate  copies 
of  them,  inviting  the  council  and  assembly  to  resume 
the  consideration  of  the  question,  upon  the  terms  of 
Lord  Ripon's  proposal,  to  every  part  of  which  they 
may  be  assured  of  his  Majesty's  continued  adhe- 
rence. 

16.  Lord  Aylmer's  refusal  to  issue  a  writ  for  the 
election  of  a  new  member  of  the  assembly,  upon 
tiie  declaration  of  the  house  that  M.  Mondelet's 
seat  had  become  vacant,  is  condemned  by  that  body 
as  a  violation  of  their  rights.  The  question  has  lost 
much,  if  not  all,  of  its  practical  importance  since 
the  passing  of  the  recent  law  for  vacating  the  seats 
of  members  accepting  places  of  emolument  under 
the  crown.  Still,  in  justice  to  Lord  Aylmer,  I  am 
bound  to  affirm  the  accuracy  of  the  distinction  in 
reference  to  which  he  appears  to  have  acted.  In 
cases  where  the  vacancy  of  a  seat  may,  corisistently 
with  existing  usages,  be  notified  by  the  house  to  the 
governor  without  assigning  the  cause,  he  is  bound 
to  presume  that  the  adjudication  of  the  house  is 
right,  and  must  carry  it  into  effect  by  issuing  a  new 
writ.    But  in  cases  where  usage  requires  that  in 

17* 


. 


i.       , 


I, 


ii, 


k94 


THE  BTTBBLCS- 


the  notification  to  the  governor  the  cause  of  vacan- 
cies should  be  stated,  then,  if  the  cause  alleged  be^ 
insufficient  in  point  of  law,  the  governor  is  not  at 
liberty  to  comply  with  the  request  of  the  house. 
Tlie  concurrence  of  the  governor  and  the  house  in 
any  measure,  cannot  render  it  legal,  if  it  be  pro- 
hibited by  the  law  of  the  land.  To  that  rule  obe- 
dience is  emphatically  due  by  those  to  whom  the 
constitution  has  assigned  the  high  functions  of  legis- 
lation and  of  the  executive  government.  If,  there- 
ioYC,  Lord  Aylmor  rightly  judged  that  M.  Mondelct's 
seat  had  not  been  lawfully  vacated,  his  lordship  ad- 
hered to  the  strict  line  of  duty  in  declining  to  issue 
the  writ  for  which  the  house  applied.  If  he  cnler- 
laincd  a  serious  and  honest  doubt  on  the  subject, 
liis  lordship  was  bound  to  pause  until  that  doul»t 
could  be  removed  by  competent  judicial  authority. 
'J'i)e  subsefjucnt  introduction  by  statute  of  a  law  for 
vjicaling  seals  in  such  cases  as  that  of  M.  Mondclet's, 
would  seem  sufficiently  to  establish  that  his  acccj^- 
tance  of  office  was  not  followed  by  that  legal  con- 
sequence. 

17.  I  now  approach  the  case  of  Sir  John  Caldwell. 
It  is  a  subject  which  has  uniformly  excited  the  deep- 
est regret  of  my  predecessors:  and  I  need  hardly 
add,  that  I  partake  largely  of  that  feeling.  His 
Majesty's  government  have  offered  to  the  province 
(!vory  reparation  which  it  has  been  in  their  power  to 
make,  for  the  original  error  of  allowing  moneys  to 
accumulate  in  the  hands  of  a  public  officer,  without 
taking  full  securities  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  his 
trust:  they  have  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  as- 


in 


or  CANADA. 


105 


the  as- 


iombly  whatever  could  bo  recovered  from  Sir  John 
Caldwell,  or  from  his  sureties;  and  your  lordship  will 
now,  on  the  terms  to  which  I  have  referred  in  my 
accompanying  despatch,  be  authorized  to  surrender 
to  the  appropriation  of  that  house,  the  only  funds 
by  which  his  Majesty  could  have  contributed 
towards  making  good  the  defalcation.  Every  prac- 
tical suggestion  has  also  been  mudc  to  the  assembly, 
fur  preventing  the  recurrence  of  similar  losses. 
Nothing,  in  short,  has  been  left  undone, or  at  least  un- 
attempted,to  mitigate  the  evil  which  the  inadequacy 
of  the  securities  taken  from  Sir  John  Caldwell,  and 
the  accumulations  of  public  money  in  his  hands, 
occasioned.  Perhaps  the  legal  proceedings  against 
hid  property  miglit  be  carried  on  with  greater  acti- 
vity and  eflbct;  and  if  so,  yourship  will  lend  your  aid 
with  the  utmost  promptitude  to  that  object.  It  is,  in- 
deed, much  to  be  lamented,  that  for  so  many  years 
together,  on  such  a  case  as  this,  the  law  should  have 
proved  inadequate  to  secure  for  the  public  such  pro- 
perty as  was  in  the  possession  of  the  defaulter,  or 
liis  securities,  at  the  time  of  his  insolvency. 

I  feel,  however,  that  incomplete  justice  has  lii- 
tiierto  been  rendered  to  the  people  of  Lower  Cana- 
da, in  Sir  John  Caldwell's  case.  That  gentleman 
has  been  permitted  to  retain  his  seat  at  the  legisla- 
tive council,  and  still  holds  that  conspicuous  station. 
Whatever  sympathy  I  may  be  disposed  to  feel  for 
individual  misfortune,  and  in  whatever  degree  the 
lapse  of  years  may  have  abated  those  feeUngs  of 
just  indignation  which  were  provoked  by  the  first 
intelligence  of  so  gross  a  breach  of  the  public  trust. 


m 


'v; 


ii 


ni 


11^  I 


196 


TITE  BUBBLES 


I  cannot  in  the  calm  and  deliberate  administration 
of  justice,  hesitate  to  conclude  that  it  is  not  fitting 
that  Sir  John  Caldwell  should  retain  a  seat  in  the 
legislature  of  Lower  Canada:  his  continuance  in 
that  position,  and  his  management  and  apparent 
possession  of  the  estates  which  formerly  belonged 
to  him  in  his  own  right,  must  exhibit  to  the  people 
at  large  an  example  but  too  justly  offensive  to  public 
feeling.  Your  lordship  will  cause  it  to  be  intimated 
to  Sir  John  Caldwell,  that  the  King  expects  the  im- 
mediate resignation  of  his  office  of  legislative  coun- 
sellor; and  that  in  the  event  of  the  failure  of  that 
reasonable  expectation,  his  Majesty  will  be  com- 
pelled, however  reluctantly,  to  resort  to  other  and 
more  painful  methods  of  vindicating  the  government 
of  the  province  against  the  reproach  of  indifference 
to  a  diversion  of  public  money  from  its  legitimate 
use  to  the  private  ends  of  the  accountant. 

I  am  not  aware  that  there  remains  a  single 
topic  of  complaint  unnoticed,  either  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages  or  in  my  accompanying  instructions  to 
your  lordship  and  your  fellow  commissioners.  It 
has  been  my  endeavour  to  meet  each  successive 
topic  distinctly  and  circumstantially,  neither  evading 
any  of  the  difficulties  of  the  case,  nor  shrinking  from 
the  acknowledgment  of  any  error  which  may  be 
discovered  in  the  administration  of  affairs  so  various 
and  complicated.  I  dismiss  the  subject  for  the  pre- 
sent, with  the  expression  of  my  earnest  hope  that 
his  Majesty's  efforts  to  terminate  these  dissensions 
may  be  met  by  all  parties  in  the  spirit  of  corresp  jnd- 
ing  frankness  and  good-will;  assured  that,  in  that 


OF  CANADA. 


197 


case,  his  Majesty  will  not  be  disappointed  in  that 
which  is  the  single  object  of  his  policy  on  this 
subject — the  prosperity  of  Canada,  as  an  integral 
and  highly  important  member  of  the  British  em* 
pire. 


m^i 


»f 


IDA  i 

m 


198 


THE  BUBBLES 


'i 


III 


LETTER  X. 

The  arrival  of  the  commissioners  of  Inquiry  in  Ca- 
nada put  an  end  to  all  farther  prospect  of  grievances, 
and  at  once  damped  the  hopes  and  awakened  the 
anger  of  the  disaffected.  The  very  act  of  investi- 
gating the  complaints  which  they  themselves  had 
preferred  was  made  a  subject  of  invective;  the  com- 
mission was  denounced  as  an  insult  to  the  assembly, 
whose  voice  alone  should  be  heard,  and  whose  de- 
cisions neither  admitted  of  question  by  the  council 
nor  by  the  government.  Knowing  that  the  instruc- 
tions given  to  the  commissioners  were  of  the  most 
conciliatory  description,  that  every  change  would 
be  effected  that  they  had  desired,  and  that,  by  their 
own  showing,  they  would  be  compelled  to  be  tran- 
quil, they  promptly  changed  their  ground,  aban- 
doned the  untenable  local  topics,  and  boldly  at- 
tacked the  constitution.  The  mask  was  now  thrown 
off,  and  republicanism  openly  avowed  as  their  ob- 
ject. That  this  development  was  prematurely  has- 
tened by  the  unexpected  and  immediate  concession 
of  their  requests,  and  their  object  disclosed  sooner 
than  they  had  intended,  is  evident  from  their  address 
to  the  governor,  so  lately  as  in  1831,  whom  it  was 
their  interest  and  intention  to  deceive.  Early  in 
,  that  year  they  said  to  him,  "  It  will  be  our  earnest 


OF  CANADA. 


199 


desire  that  harmony  may  prevail  among  the  several 
branches  of  the  legislature,  that  full  effect  may  be 
given  to  the  constitution  as  established  by  law,  and 
that  it  may  be  transmitted  unimpaired  to  posterity.''* 
Now  different  language  was  held,  and,  that  there 
might  be  no  mistake,  Mr.  Papineau  said : 

"The  people  of  this  province  were  now  merely 
preparing  themselves  for  a  future  state  of  political 
existence,  which  he  trusted  would  be  neither  a 
monarchy  nor  an  aristocracy.  He  hoped  Provi- 
dence had  not  in  view  for  his  country  a  feature  so 
dark  as  that  it  should  be  the  means  of  planting  royalty 
in  America,  near  a  country  so  grand  as  the  United 
States.  He  hoped,  for  the  future,  America  would 
give  republics  to  Europe." 

As  proofs  are  always  preferable  to  assertions, 
and  as  this  is  too  important  a  charge  to  rest  on  the 
authority  of  an  anonymous  writer,  I  shall  adduce  a 
few  more  instances  where  the  avowal  is  distinct  and 
unequivocal.  In  a  French  journal  devoted  to  the 
party,  published  in  Montreal,  we  find  the  following 
sentiments; 

"  In  examining  with  an  attentive  eye  what  is  pass- 
ing around  us,  it  is  easy  to  convince  oneself  that  our 
country  is  placed  in  very  critical  circumstances, 
and  that  a  revolution  will  perhaps  be  necessary  to 
place  it  in  a  more  natural  and  less  precarious  situa- 
tion. A  constitution  to  remodel,  a  nationality  to 
maintain — these  are  the  objects  which  at  present 
occupy  all  Canadians. 

"  It  may  be  seen,  according  to  this,  that  there 
exist  two  parties,  of  opposite  interests  and  manners 
— the  Canadians  and  the  English.    These  first-born 


i.i: 


ill 


\M'\ 


'r.U 


200 


THE  BUBBLES 


Frenchmen  have  the  habits  and  character  of  such. 
They  have  inherited  from  their  fathers  a  hatred  to 
the  English;  who,  in  their  turn,  seeing  in  them  the 
children  of  France,  detest  them.     These  two  parties 
can  never  unite,  and  will  not  always  remain  tran- 
(juil;  it  is  a  bad  amalgamation  of  interests,  of  man- 
ners, of  language,  and  of  religion,  which  sooner  or 
later  must  produce  a  collision.    It  is  sufficiently  l^e- 
lieved  that  a  revolution  is  possible,  but  it  is  believed 
to  be  far  off;  as  for  me,  I  think  it  will  not  be  delayed. 
Let  them  consider  these  words  of  a  great  writer, 
and  they  will  no  longer  treat  a  revolution  and  a 
separation  from  the  mother  country  as  a  chimera 
— 'The  greatest  misfortune  of  man  politically,'  says 
he,  *is  to  obey  a  foreign  power;  no  humiliation,  no 
torment  of  the  heart,  can  compare  to  this.     The 
subjected  nation,  at  least  if  she  be  not  protected  by 
some  extraordinary  law,  ought  not  to  obey  this  so- 
vereign.— We  repeat  it,  an  immediate  separation 
from  England  is  the  only  means  of  preserving  our 
nationality.     Some  time  hence,  when  emigration 
shall  have  made  our  adversaries  our  equals  in  num- 
ber, more  daring,  and  less  generous,  they  will  de- 
prive us  of  our  liberties,  or  we  shall  have  the  same 
fate  as  our  unhappy  countrymen  the  Acadians.    Be- 
lieve me,  this  is  the  fate  reserved  for  us,  if  we  do 
not  hasten  to  make  ourselves  independent !" 

In  a  pamphlet  written  by  Mr.  Papineau,  he  says 
of  the  French : 

"  It  ^ihe  French  party)  has  not,  it  ought  not  to 
entertain  a  shadow  of  hope  that  it  will  obtain  any 
justice  whatsoever  from  any  of  the  authorities  con- 
stituted as  they  are  at  present  in  this  country.    If 


Ro( 


I 


OF  CANADA. 


201 


it  would  entertain  the  same  opinion  of  the  authori- 
ties in  England  that  it  entertains  of  the  authorities 
in  this  country,  these  obstacles  could  easily  be  over- 
come." 

He  then  claims  the  colony  as  belonging  solely  to 
his  party: 

"In  consequence  of  the  facilities  afforded  by  the 
administration  for  the  settlement  of  Britons  within 
OUR  colony,  they  came  in  shoals  to  our  shores  to 
push  their  fortunes." 

"  They  have  established  a  system  of  paper-money, 
based  solely  upon  their  own  credit,  and  which  our 
habitatis  have  had  the  folly  to  receive  as  ready  mo- 
ney, although  it  is  not  hard  cash,  current  among  all 
nations,  but  on  the  contrary,  which  is  of  no  value, 
and  without  the  limits  of  the  province,  would  not 
be  received  by  any  person."  ,  /   . 

To  obstruct  the  arrival  of  emigrants  as  much  as 
possible,  resort  was  had  to  one  of  those  measures 
so  common  in  Canadian  legislation,  in  which  the 
object  of  the  bill  is  at  variance  with  its  preamble. 
An  Act  was  passed,  6  Will.  IV.,  c.  13,  which  under 
the  speciously  humane  pretence  of  creating  a  fund 
to  defray  the  expense  of  medical  assistance  to  sick 
emigrants,  and  of  enabling  indigent  persons  of  that 
description  to  proceed  to  the  place  of  theic  destina- 
tion, a  capitation  tax  was  imposed,  which  affected 
emigration  to  Upper  as  well  as  Lower  Canada;  and 
the  operation  of  it  was  such,  that  even  an  inhabi- 
tant of  the  former  province,  returning  to  his  home  by 
the  St.  Lawrence,  was  liable  to  this  odious  impost. 

When  every  topic  appeared  to  be  exhausted,  Mr. 

Rodier,  a  member  of  the  assembly,  was  so  fortu- 
18 


i^i 


I'll 


'  i'lfl 


I'' 


f'\ 


202 


THB  BUBBLII8 


nute  as  to  have  discovered  a  new  one,  in  the  cho' 
lera,  \<^hich  he  charged  the  English  with  having  in- 
troduced among  them.  Absurd  as  this  may  seem 
to  be,  it  was  not  without  its  efTect,  and  the  simple- 
minded  credulous  peasantry  were  induced  to  be- 
lieve it  of  a  people  of  whom  they  had  lately  heard 
from  their  leaders  nothing  but  expressions  of  hatred 
and  abuse. 

"  When  1  see,"  said  he,  "  my  country  in  mourn- 
ing, and  my  native  land  presenting  to  my  eye  no- 
thing but  one  vast  cemetery,  1  ask,  what  has  been 
the  cause  of  all  these  disasters?  and  the  voices  of 
thousands  of  my  fellow  citizens  respond  from  their 
tombs, — it  is  emigration.  It  is  not  enough  to  send 
amongst  us  avaricious  egotists,  without  any  other 
spirit  of  liberty  than  could  be  bestowed  by  a  sim- 
ple education  of  the  counter,  to  enrich  themselves 
at  the  expense  of  the  Canadians,  and  then  endea- 
vour to  enslave  them — they  must  also  rid  them- 
selves of  their  beggars,  and  cast  them  by  thousands 
on  our  shores — they  must  send  us  miserable  beings, 
who  after  having  partaken  of  the  bread  of  our  chil- 
dren, will  subject  them  to  the  horrors  of  hunger  and 
misery;  they  must  do  still  more — they  must  send 
us,  in  their  train,  pestilence  and  death.  If  I  pre- 
sent to  you  so  melancholy  a  picture  of  the  condi- 
tion of  this  country,  I  have  to  encourage  the  hope 
that  we  may  yet  preserve  our  nationality,  and  avoid 
those  future  calamities,  by  opposing  a  barrier  to  this 
torrent  of  emigration.  It  is  only  in  the  house  of 
assembly*  we  can  place  our  hopes,  and  it  is  only  in 

*  In  a  work  published  in  France,  for  circulation  in  Canada,  a 
vcty  intelligible  hint  is  given  on  this  subject.    «  As  the  house  of 


or  OAITADA. 


203 


the  choice  the  Canadians  make  in  their  elections, 
they  can  ensure  the  preservation  of  their  rights  and 
political  liberties." 

Things  were  now  rapidly  drawing  to  a  crisis. 
The  legislature  was  assembled  by  the  new  gover- 
nor, and  addressed  by  him  in  a  long  and  concilia- 
tory speech,  in  which  the  evils  of  internal  dissen- 
sions were  pointedly  and  feelingly  alluded  to,  and 
concessions  sufficiently  numerous  made  to  have 
gratified  the  vanity  and  appeased  the  irritation  of 
any  other  people  than  those  to  whom  it  was  ad- 
dressed. Among  other  things,  they  were  informed, 
that  intending  to  remedy  the  evils  of  persons  hold- 
ing a  plurality  of  offices,  he  had  begun  with  the 
highest,  and  discharged  some  of  his  executive  coun- 
sellors. This  announcement  was  received  in  the 
same  spirit  as  all  others  of  a  similar  nature ;  and 
his  excellency  having  cancelled  the  commission  of 
one  gentleman,  in  consequence  of  his  holding  a  legal 
appointment  under  the  house,  the  assembly  thought 
that  so  good  an  example  could  not  be  followed  too 
speedily,  and  immediately  dismissed  him  from  the 
one  he  retained,  because  he  was  in  the  council.  A 
supplicant  for  money  must  learn  to  subdue  his  feel- 
ings, and  he  who  asks  for  bread  must  be  prepared 
to  encounter  insolence  as  well  as  destitution;  a  dig- 
nified demeanour  is  but  too  apt  to  render  poverty 
ridiculous,  and  a  wise  man  generally  lays  it  aside, 
to  be  worn  on  the  return  of  happier  days.    The 


assembly  vote  rewards  for  the  destruction  of  wolves,  it  is  no  less 
urgent  to  devise  means  to  prevent  immigration  from  being  a  cala- 
mity for  these  colonies/' 


'  M  \i 


204 


THB  BUBBLES 


local  government  was  in  great  pecuniary  distress; 
they  were  humble  suitors  at  the  portals  of  the  house, 
and  showed  their  discretion,  in  regarding  as  a  mis- 
take what  was  intended  as  an  insult.  Warrants 
were  also  tendered  to  each  branch  of  the  legislature 
for  their  contingent  expenses;  as  these  charges  con- 
tained, on  the  part  of  the  house,  the  salary  of  Mr. 
Roebuck  and  Mr.  Viger,  agents  in  England,  not  ap- 
pointed conjointly  with  the  council,  but  by  simple 
resolutions  of  the  house,  such  an  appropriation  with- 
out law  had  always  been  violently  opposed,  and  the 
constitutionalists,  fearing  such  a  sacrifice  of  princi- 
ple would  be  made,  had,  previously  to  the  meeting  of 
the  legislature,  made  it  the  subject  of  much  ani- 
madversion, and  presented  the  governor  with  a  re- 
solution, "  That  the  claim  which  has  recently  been 
insisted  upon  by  the  house  of  assembly,  and  occa- 
sionally acted  upon  by  the  legislative  council,  to 
obtain,  by  separate  addresses  to  the  governor,  ad- 
vances of  unappropriated  money,  under  the  plea  of 
defraying  contingent  expenses,  but  in  reality  em- 
bracing the  payment  of  salaries  or  allowances  not 
legally  established,  and  more  particularly  as  regards 
the  pretensions  of  the  assembly  for  expenses  not  in- 
curred or  to  be  incurred  for  the  business  of  the  ses- 
sions of  that  house,  is  altogether  unfounded  in  law, 
unsupported  by  parliamentary  usage,  and  subver- 
sive of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  British  sub- 
ject." 

Independent  of  the  constitutional  objection  to  the 
application  of  the  public  funds  to  the  payment  of 
persons  whom  the  legislative  council  had  not  only 
not  concurred  in  appointing,  but  to  whose  mission 


or  CAITAUA. 


205 


they  had  pointedly  objected,  they  deeply  deplored 
that  so  extraordinary  a  concession  should  be  made 
as  the  payment  of  every  demand  of  that  body  that 
obstinately  persisted  in  refusing  to  make  any  vote 
for  the  support  of  the  government.  Peace,  how- 
ever, was  deemed  paramount  to  every  other  consi- 
deration, and  that  nothing  might  be  left  undone 
to  attain  it,  even  this  sacrifice  was  not  considered 
too  great. 

They  were  now  called  upon,  in  the  usual  man- 
ner, to  provide  for  the  support  of  the  judges  and  the 
officers  of  government,  the  public  chest  containing 
at  the  lime  £130,000  sterling. 

The  house  had  no  sooner  retired  from  hearing 
this  address,  than  their  speaker  adopted  his  usual 
mode  of  inflaming  his  party  by  the  most  violent  in- 
vectives against  all  the  authorities  both  at  home 
and  in  the  colony,  charging  the  one  with  deceit  and 
hypocrisy  in  their  words,  and  the  other  with  op- 
pression and  peculation  in  their  deeds.  In  a  short 
time  he  brought  matters  to  that  condition  he  had  so 
long  desired. 

The  house  voted  an  address  to  his  Majesty,  in 
which  they  announced  that  they  had  postponed 
the  consideration  of  the  arrears,  and  determined  to 
refuse  any  future  provision  for  the  wants  of  the  lo- 
cal administration,  in  order  the  better  to  insist  upon 
the  changes  which  they  required  from  the  imperial 
authorities.  Their  utmost  concession  (and  they  de- 
sired it  might  not  be  taken  for  a  precedent)  was  to 
offer  a  supply  for  six  months,  that  time  being  allow- 
ed to  his  Majesty's  government  and  the  British  par- 
liament to  decide  on  the  fundamental  alterations  of 


!' 


;tf 


u 


206 


THE  BUBBLES 


the  constitution  and  other  important  measares  in- 
cluded in  the  demands  of  the  assembly. 

In  this  bill  of  supply,  which  was  for  six  months 
only,  and  merely  passed  for  the  purpose  of  throw- 
ing the  odium  of  rejection  on  the  other  branch  of 
the  legislature,  they  excluded  the  salaries  of  the 
counsellors,  of  their  assistant  clerk,  one  of  the  judges, 
some  usual  incidental  charges  of  the  civil  secretary's 
office,  besides  other  important  salaries;  and,  as  they 
had  hoped,  it  was  not  concurred  in.  This  was  the 
first  time  they  had  left  the  executive  without  the 
means  of  conducting  the  government,  for  the  sole 
and  avowed  purpose  of  procuring  changes  in  the 
constitution.  Of  the  confusion  and  distress  which 
this  repeated  refusal  of  the  assembly  to  co-operate 
with  the  other  branches  of  the  legislature  produced 
in  the  province,  it  is  difficult  to  convey  any  ade- 
quate idea.  '  ,. 

The  province  was  far  advanced  in  the  fourth 
year  since  there  had  been  any  appropriation  of  pro- 
vincial funds  to  the  use  of  government;  and  although 
a  sum,  temporarily  contributed  from  the  British 
Treasury,  had  relieved  the  civil  officers,  so  far  as 
to  give  them  one  year's  salary  during  that  period, 
the  third  year  was  passing  away,  during  which  they 
had  not  had  the  smallest  fraction  of  their  earnings 
in  the  service  of  the  public.  The  distress  and  em- 
barrassment which  this  state  of  circumstances  in- 
flicted on  the  functionaries  of  the  province,  whose 
private  resources  are  generally  very  limited,  were 
as  humiliating  as  they  were  unmerited.  Many  were 
living  on  money  borrowed  at  an  exorbitant  interest ; 
some  could  not  but  be  reduced  to  the  verge  of  ruin ; 


or  OARADA. 


207 


and  to  show  that  this  suffering  of  individuals  was 
not  unattended  with  danger  to  the  general  welfare, 
it  may  be  enough  to  remark,  without  painfully  dwell- 
ing on  private  circumstances,  that  the  judges  of  the 
country  were  amongst  those  who  were  left  to  pro- 
vide for  their  subsistence  as  best  they  might,  after 
three  years'  stoppage  of  their  official  incomes. 

This  condition  of  affairs  might  naturally  have 
been  expected  to  terminate  with  the  commencement 
of  the  present  session.  In  the  two  previous  years 
the  supplies  had  failed  in  the  assembly,  either  from 
differences  with  the  governor  for  the  time  being,  or 
from  the  refusal  of  funds  for  the  payment  of  their 
contingent  expenses ;  but  when  the  provincial  par- 
liament last  met,  these  grounds  of  dissension  were 
removed.  You  will  not  perceive  (the  commission- 
ers observed)  amongst  the  grounds  assigned  for 
prolonging  the  financial  difficulties,  any  complaint 
against  the  existing  provincial  administration,  or 
the  assertion  of  any  demerit  in  the  parties  who  con- 
tinued to  be  deprived  of  their  lawful  remuneration. 
No  local  cause  of  quarrel  was  alleged,  of  which  the 
settlement  might  be  indispensable  before  the  public 
business  could  proceed;  on  the  contrary,  it  was 
stated  openly  and  without  disguise,  that  changes  of 
a  political  nature  were  the  end  in  view,  and  that 
until  certain  acts  should  be  done,  competent  to  no 
other  authority  than  the  imperial  parliament,  and 
comprising  organic  changes  in  the  constitution,  by 
virtue  of  which  the  assembly  itself  existed,  that  the 
house  would  never  make  another  pecuniary  grant 
to  the  government.  Thus  the  public  servants,  no 
parties  to  the  contest,  were  afflicted  merely  as  in- 


308 


THE  BUBBLES 


struments,  through  whose  sufferings  to  extort  con* 
cessions  totally  independent  of  their  will  to  grant  or 
to  refuse.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark,  that 
the  objects,  for  the  enforcement  of  which  oven  such 
means  as  these  were  thought  expedient,  had  never 
been  positively  refused,  but  had  only  been  referred 
to  the  commission  of  inquiry,  in  order  that,  before 
the  executive  branch  of  the  government  undertook 
to  recommend  changes  of  a  very  important  and  ex- 
tensive nature,  it  might  receive  advice  from  per- 
sons intrusted  with  the  confidence  of  his  Majesty. 
This,  however,  did  not  prove  enough.  Apprehen- 
sions of  delay  from  the  commission,  and  doubts  of 
the  freedom  with  which  it  would  act,  were  ex- 
pressed in  the  address;  and  the  assembly  intimated, 
with  frankness,  that  it  would  allow  of  no  delibera- 
tion; that  either  its  demands  must  be  acceded  to 
forthwith,  or  that  it  would  employ  its  power  over  the 
supplies,  to  render  the  government  of  the  country 
impossible. 

The  sufferings  of  these  officers  was  a  matter  of 
undisguised  satisfaction  to  the  disaffected,  who  made 
them  the  subject  of  much  facetious  comment  on 
every  occasion.  The  commissioners  very  natural- 
ly observed  on  this  peculiarity : 

"  If  proof  were  wanting  that  national  distinctions 
do  exercise  an  influence  on  the  course  of  affairs  in 
this  province,  it  might  be  supplied  in  the  absence  of 
all  sympathy  on  the  part  of  the  house  of  assembly 
in  the  existing  distress  of  the  public  oflicers.  Those 
officers  of  government  are  for  the  most  part  of  Eng- 
lish origin,  which,  v/e  think,  explains  the  treatment 
of  the  public  functionaries  by  the  members  of  as- 


be 


or  CANADA. 


soo 


sombly.  If  both  ipoke  the  same  language,  used  the 
same  habits,  and  had  those  ordinary  feelings  of  sym- 
pathy which  must  follow  from  any  familiar  inter- 
course in  private  life,  we  do  not  believe  it  pui^sible 
that  one  of  the  two  could  find  resolution  to  plunge 
indiscriminately  the  whole  of  the  other  class  into 
difficulties,  not  for  any  acts  of  their  own,  not  even 
for  any  obnoxious  sentiments  they  might  hold,  but 
in  order  that,  by  their  losses,  a  third  party  might  be 
induced  through  compassion  to  surrender  objects 
desired  at  its  hands." 

Such,  however,  were  the  means  through  which 
they  hoped  to  effect  their  object,  which  they  now 
announced  as  follows : 

1.  That  the  legislative  council  should  be  elec- 
tive. 

2.  That  the  executive  council  should  be  convert- 
ed into  a  ministry,  responsible  to  the  assembly. 

3.  That  the  Tenures*  Act  and  Land  Company's 
Act  should  be  repealed. 

4.  That  the  Crown  revenues  should  be  surren- 
dered unconditionally. 

5.  That  the  management  of  the  waste  lands  should 
be  given  up  to  them. 

And  they  farther  declared,  that  they  would  pay 
no  arrears,  or  vote  any  civil  list,  until  these  demands 
should  be  complied  with. 

Here  the  government  also  made  its  stand,  and 
very  properly  said.  We  shall  concede  no  farther; 
these  demands  involve  a  surreitder  of  the  colony 
to  one  party  within  it,  and  we  are  not  justified  in 
granting  them,  consistently  with  the  duty  we  owe 


(  . 


I .  J- 


'    ^.  J 


t 


m 


»^j 


210 


THE  BUBBLES 


to  the  Crown,  to  the  public,  or  to  the  colonists  of 
British  origin.  ■' 

In  order  that  you  may  understand  the  bearings 
of  these  demands,  which  are  now  the  real  points  in 
dispute  (all  others  having  been  disposed  of,)  it  will 
be  necessary  for  me  to  consider  them  separately ; 
but  as  I  have  already  shown  you  that  "  nationali- 
ty," "  independence,"  and  republicanism  were  their 
avowed  ultimate  objects,  and  also  the  quo  animo  in 
which  they  were  demanded,  you  may  naturally  infer 
that  they  themselves  considered  them  as  materially 
contributing  to  that  end,  and  essential  to  prepare  the 
country  (as  Mr.  Papineau  described  it)  for  a  future 
state  of  political  existence,  which  he  trusted  would 
be  neither  a  monarchy  nor  an  aristocracy.  Indeed 
this  has  never  been  denied  any  where  but  in  Eng- 
land, and  here  only  by  a  party  who  are  desirous  of 
applying  the  same  elective  principle  to  the  house  of 
lords,  most  probably  with  the  view  of  producing  a 
similar  result. 

1st.  The  first  demand  was  that  the  legislative 
council  should  be  elective.  ^  ? 

The  legislative  council  is  contemporaneous  with 
the  house  of  assembly,  owing  its  existence  to  the 
constitutional  act  of  1791,  and  was  the  first  instance 
known  in  the  colonies  of  such  a  body  having  a  dis- 
tinct existence,  separate  and  apart  from  the  execu- 
tive council.  It  consisted  at  first  of  fourteen  mem- 
bers, and,  in  October  1837,  of  forty,  eighteen  of 
whom  were  French  Canadians ;  but  as  there  were 
several  unable  to  attend  from  infirmities  and  old  age, 
Lord  Gosford  reported  that  not  more  than  thirty- 
one  could  be  assembled,  thirteen  English  and  eigh- 


5  ; 


OF  CANADA. 


211 


teen  French  members,  of  whom  three  at  most  were 
persons  holding  office  under  government.  This 
body  has,  as  far  as  the  dependent  nature  of  a  colo- 
ny permits,  analogous  duties  to  perform  to  those  of 
the  house  of  lords,  and,  when  judiciously  selected, 
is  essential  to  deliberate  and  useful  legislation,  to 
sustain  the  prerogative,  to  uphold  the  connexion  be- 
tween the  mother  country  and  the  colony,  and  to 
give  security  to  the  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  sub- 
jects of  British  origin  in  the  province.  This  much 
was  admitted  even  by  the  commissioners  of  inquiry, 
whose  reluctant  tribute  appears  not  to  have  been 
given  until  ingenuity  had  sought  in  vain  for  a  bet- 
ter substitute. 

"  In  the  revision  and  correction  of  bills  sent  up  to 
them  by  the  assembly,  we  have  no  doubt,  however, 
that  the  council  has  often  rendered  valuable  ser- 
vices to  the  country,  and  has  no  less  fulfilled  one, 
perhaps,  of  its  peculiar  functions,  by  its  rejection  of 
measures  which  the  constitution  would  not  admit, 
thereby  relieving  the  representative  of  the  King  from 
the  duty  of  withholding  the  royal  assent  to  them : 
such  as  bills  in  which  the  assembly  encroached  upon 
the  royal  prerogative,  tacked  to  their  grants  of  mo- 
ney conditions  deemed  in  England  unparliamentary, 
or  took  it  upon  themselves  to  attempt  the'  repeal  of 
a  British  statute." 

It  has  been  the  unceasing  aim  of  Mr.  Papineau 
and  his  party  to  libel  this  body  as  a  combined 
faction,  actuated  by  interest  alone  to  struggle  for 
the  support  of  a  corrupt  government,  adverse  to 
the  rights  and  wishes  of  the  people.  One  of  the 
charges  brought  against  it  was  that  there  were  too 


II 


■i  ii 


fii'i 

'       ,A  . .. 

li 

all 


1!    . 


Ill  (a 
.    1    '! 


l1 


i 


212 


THE  BUBBLES 


many  persons  in  it  holding  office,  and  that  com> 
plaint  was  not  without  foundation.  Indeed  it  was 
so  apparent,  that,  from  1829  to  1835,  twenty-one 
new  counsellors  were  appointed  wholly  independent 
of  government.  Another  charge  preferred  against 
it  was  the  rejection  in  ten  years  of  169  bills  sent  to 
them  by  the  other  house,  as  contained  in  the  fol- 
lowing tables:—  '■  -. 


YEAR. 

Rejected  by 
the  Council. 

Amended  by 
Council. 

Total. 

1822  -          -          ■ 

1823  -          -           . 
1824 

1825  -           •           • 

1826  -           ■           - 

1827  -           -           • 
1828 

1829 

1830  -           .           - 

1831  -           . 

1832  -           -           • 

8 
14 
12 
12 
19 
No  BcMion. 

16 

16 
11 
14 

0 
2 
5 
5 

8 
No  Session. 

8 

8 
3 

8 

8 
16 
17 
17 
87 
No  Session. 

34 

24 
14 
22 

Total 

122 

47 

169 

This  charge  has  been  reiterated  in  the  other  co- 
lonies, where  the  explanation  never  followed,  and 
in  some  instances,  from  the  circumstantial  and  for- 
mal manner  in  which  it  is  made,  has  not  been  with- 
out its  effect.  It  will  be  observed  that  they  are 
charged  with  rejecting  109  instead  of  122  bills, 
every  exercise  of  the  constitutional  right  of  amend- 
ment being  considered  equivalent  to  rejection. 
Every  successive  year  the  bills  which  had  been 
disagreed  to  were  again  transmitted  to  them,  to 
swell  by  their  rejection  the  amount  of  their  of- 
fences. Deducting  the  number  produced  by  this 
multiplying  process,  the  amount  of  bills  rejected 
falls  under  forty,  which  is  an  average  of  less  than 


OF  CANADA. 


213 


\ 


four  a  year.  In  addition  to  this  formidable  list 
which  had  not  been  concurred  in,  another  intermi- 
nable one  was  offered  of  those  which  had  not  been 
considered,  the  explanation  of  which  I  find  in  the 
words  of  the  commissioners : — 

"  Much  obloquy  has  also,  we  must  assert,  been 
unjustly  attempted  to  be  thrown  on  the  council  for 
the  rejection  of  bills  sent  up  to  them  late  in  the  ses- 
sion, when  there  were  no  longer  the  means  of  form- 
ing a  house  in  the  assembly  to  take  into  considera- 
tion any  amendments  that  might  be  made  on  them.'' 

Instead  of  preferring  complaints  against  this  body 
for  acts  of  omission,  they  might  have  been  more  suc- 
cessful had  they  rested  satisfied  with  charging  them 
with  acts  of  commission;  for,  although  they  can 
be  justified  for  their  rejection  of  pernicious  bills, 
what  shall  we  say  to  their  want  of  firmness  in  after- 
wards passing  some  of  those  very  bills,  under  the 
dictation  of  that  assembly  that  was  arming  itself 
with  fresh  charges  from  these  instances  of  its  weak* 
ness?  But  the  time  had  now  arrived  when  it  was 
alike  independent  of  the  crown  and  the  people,  and 
could  neither  be  influenced  by  the  timid  fears  of  the 
executive,  nor  the  violence  and  invective  of  the  as- 
sembly. So  long  as  a  majority  of  office-holders  and 
people  connected  with  government  had  sdats  at  the 
council  board,  the  factious  majority  of  the  house 
could  exercise  a  control  over  the  council,  through  the 
state  of  dependence  and  subjugation  in  which  they 
kept  the  executive.  Every  governor  had  lately 
shown  a  desire  to  win  the  honour  of  pacifying  Ca- 
nada,— had  receded  and  conceded,  offered  concilia- 


f- 


19^ 


\  4 


y 

I'll 


I  am 


)"\'- 


'   ili'!i 


1  V  i  I 


I 


i  i .'. 


/ 


214 


THE  BUBBLES 


tion  and  endured  affronts,  borne  and  forborne,  in  a 
manner  that  it  is  quite  humiliating  to  contemplate, 
and  had  used  his  influence  in  the  legislative  council 
to  aid  in  the  execution  of  instructions  which,  al- 
though they  are  justly  entitled  to  the  merit  of  kind 
intentions,  have  not  so  much  claim  upon  our  admira- 
tion on  the  score  of  their  merit  or  their  dignity.  We 
find,  indeed,  the  aid  of  the  secretary  for  the  colonies 
called  in,  and  Mr.  Stanley  reproving  them  for  even 
insinuating  a  doubt  of  the  loyalty  of  these  omnipo- 
tent men,  and  regretting  that  any  word  had  been  in- 
troduced which  should  have  the  appearance  of  as- 
cribing to  a  class  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  of  one  ori- 
gin views  at  variance  with  the  allegiance  which  they 
owe  to  his  Majesty.  The  house  had,  however,  by 
their  incessant  complaints,  purified  the  board  of  eve- 
ry person  upon  whom  this  influence  could  be  ex- 
erted. This  independence  of  executive  influence  is 
thus  alluded  to  by  Lord  Aylmer: — "  It  would  be  dif- 
ficult, perhaps,  to  find  in  any  British  colony  a  legis- 
lative body  more  independent  of  the  Crown  than  the 
legislative  council  of  Lower  Canada;  and  so  far  am 
I  from  possessing,  as  the  King's  reiresentative,  any 
influence  there,  that  1  will  not  conceal  that  J  have,  on 
more  than  one  occasion,  regretted  the  course  adopted 
by  the  council.  But  whilst  I  make  this  confession,  I 
will  not  deny  but  I  have,  on  the  contrary,  much  sa- 
tisfaction in  avowing  that  I  repose  great  confidence 
in  that  branch  of  the  colonial  legislature.  It  is  a 
confidence  derived  from  my  knowledge  of  the  up- 
right, independent,  and  honourable  character  of  the 
great  majority  of  those  who  compose  it,  and  of  their 


OF  CANADA. 


215 


firm  and  unalterable  attachment  to  his  Majesty's  per- 
son and  government,  and  to  the  constitution  of  the 
colonies  as  by  law  established."  The  council  had 
actually  become,  what  it  ought  to  be,  the  representa- 
tive of  the  independent  people  of  the  country — of 
the  wealth,  intelligence,  and  virtue  of  the  colony. 
The  assembly,  therefore,  voted  that  it  was  more 
mischievous  than  ever,  and  resolved  that  it  should 
be  elective.  It  is  but  due  to  them  here  to  say  that 
this  idea  is  not  thought  to  have  originated  in  Cana- 
da, but  to  have  been  communicated  to  them,  with 
other  equally  judicious  advice,  from  England.  It  is 
certain  it  has  been  advocated  here,  if  not  strongly,  at 
least  warmly,  and  was  supported  in  the  house  of 
lords  by  Lord  Brougham.  From  a  careful  perusal 
of  what  his  lordship  said  upon  the  occasion,  which 
was  declamatory  and  not  argumentative,  I  am  in- 
clined to  believe  it  received  his  support,  not  so  much 
because  he  thought  so,  as  because  the  ministry  did 
not  think  so,  as  the  whole  speech  appears  to  be  the 
effect  of  strongly  excited  feelings. 

Any  organic  change  in  the  legislative  eouncil  must 
be  well  considered,  before  it  is  granted,  in  two  dis- 
tinct and  separate  bearings,  first,  as  it  affects  the  con- 
nexion with  this  country,  and,  secondly,  as  it  affects 
the  interests  of  the  colonists  themselves.  The  avowed 
object  of  the  assembly  in  advocating  this  change,  is 
to  procure  an  identity  of  views  in  the  two  branches, 
which  would  be  effected  by  their  being  elected  by 
the  same  persons,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  by  the 
same  influences.  Were  this  to  take  place,  it  would 
be  a  duplicate  of  the  house,  registering  its  Acts,  but 
exercising  no  beneficial  legislation  upon  them.     A 


,i 


■!?! 


'in 


mi 


i 


rg' 


i 


I 


'I' 


ii 


316 


THE  BUBBLES 


1 

I  mi 


difference  of  opinion  then,  whenever  it  occurred, 
would  not  be  between  the  two  houses,  but  between 
them  and  the  governor,  and  it  is  easy  to  conceive  how 
untenable  his  position  would  soon  become.  At  pre- 
sent, although  possessing  a  veto,  and  forming  a  con- 
stituent, he  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  a  deliberative 
branch  of  the  legislature,  but  by  this  change  either 
such  duties  must  necessarily  devolve  upon  him,  and 
occasion  the  exercise  of  incompatible  powers,  or  in 
every  instance  where  he  differed  in  opinion,  he  would 
be  compelled  to  resort  to  a  rejection  of  the  measure. 
The  commissioners,  whose  reasoning  on  the  subject 
is  not  very  intelligible,  have  been  more  fortunate  in 
the  expression  of  their  impartiality,  having  recorded 
at  the  same  time  their  approbation  of  the  principle, 
and  their  conviction  of  the  danger  of  its  application. 
The  object  of  the  French  party,  it  is  said,  is  to  assi- 
milate their  institutions  to  those  of  the  United 
States;  but  the  situation  of  the  country  is  so  differ- 
ent from  that  of  any  state  in  the  union,  that  there  is 
no  analogy  whatever.  Instead  of  two  coexistent  but 
independent  chambers,  it  would  in  fact  be  only  one 
body  occupying  two  halls.  ^^       m 

In  Canada  there  is  unfortunately  wanting  among 
the  French  population,  the  salutary  control  of  public 
opinion.  The  population  is  wholly  unfit  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  the  important  duties  of  self-government. 
Scattered  over  a  large  surfade,  ignorant  of  constitu- 
tional principles,  and  inattentive  to  public  affairs, 
they  implicitly  follow  a  few  leaders,  who  have  the 
choice  and  the  management  of  their  representatives 
in  their  own  hands,  and  who,  if  this  change  were 
conceded,  would  place  in  both  houses  such  persons 


OF  CANADA. 


21? 


aa  would  follow  their  instructions.  It  were  needless 
to  ask  in  such  a  case  what  would  become  of  the  Bri- 
tish population?  That  Mr.  Papii\eau  knows  but  lit- 
tle of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  which  he 
affects  to  admire,  and  claims  to  imitate,  will  best  ap- 
pear from  the  following  extracts  from  American  con- 
stitutional writers: 

"  All  the  powers  of  government,"  says  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son, "  legislative,  executive,  and  judiciary,  result  to 
Uie  legislative  body.  The  concentration  of  these  in 
the  same  hands  is  precisely  the  definition  of  a  de- 
spotic government.  It  will  be  no  alleviation,  that 
these  powers  will  be  exercised  by  a  plurality  of 
hands,  and  not  by  a  single  one.  One  hundred  and 
seventy-three  despots  would  surely  be  as  oppressive 
as  one.  Let  those  who  doubt  it  turn  their  eyes  on 
the  republic  of  Venice.  An  elective  despotism  is 
not  the  government  we  fought  for;  but  one  which 
should  not  only  be  founded  on  free  principles,  but  in 
which  the  powers  of  government  should  be  so  di- 
vided and  balanced  among  several  bodies  of  magis- 
tracy, as  that  no  one  could  transcend  their  legal  li- 
mits without  being  effectually  checked  and  restrained 
by  the  others." 

Another  author  says, 

"Another  and  most  important  advantage  arising 
from  this  ingredient  is,  the  great  difference  which  it 
creates  in  the  elements  of  the  two  branches  of  the 
legislature;  which  constitutes  a  great  desideratum  in 
every  practical  division  of  legislative  power.  In  fact, 
this  division  (as  has  been  already  intimated)  is  of 
little  or  no  intrinsic  value,  unless  it  is  so  organized, 
that  each  can  operate  as  a  real  check  upon  undue  and 
rash   legislation.      If  each   branch   is  substantially 

19* 


I!  m 


1 


:i  n 


v.lli 


m 


11'  . 

1  i  Jl, 

mi 


218 


THE  BUBBLES 


framed  upon  the  same  plan,  the  advantages  of  the 
division  are  shadowy  and  imaginative;  the  visions 
and  speculations  of  the  brain,  and  not  the  waking 
thoughts  of  statesmen  or  patriots.  It  may  be  safely 
asserted,  that  for  all  the  purposes  of  liberty,  and  se- 
curity of  stable  laws,  and  of  solid  institutions,  of  per- 
sonal rights,  and  of  the  protection  of  property,  a  sin- 
gle branch  is  quite  as  good  as  two,  if  their  composi- 
tion is  the  same,  and  their  spirit  and  impulses  the 
same.  Each  will  act  as  the  other  does;  and  each 
will  be  led  by  some  common  influence  of  ambition, 
or  intrigue,  or  passion,  to  the  same  disregard  of  pub- 
lic interests,  and  the  same  indi£ference  to  the  pros- 
tration of  private  rights.  It  will  only  be  a  duplica- 
tion of  the  evils  of  oppression  and  rashness  with  a  du- 
plicaf  Ion  of  obstruction  to  effective  redress.  In  this 
view  the  organization  of  the  senate  becomes  of  inesti- 
mable value."  Again  he  says, "  The  improbability  of 
sinister  combination  will  always  be  in  proportion  to 
the  dissimilarity  of  the  genius  of  the  two  bodies;  and, 
therefore,  every  circumstance  consistent  with  har- 
mony in  all  proper  measures,  which  points  out  a  dis- 
tinct organization  of  the  component  materials  of  each, 
is  desirable." 

And  again  this  is  very  powerfully  put  by  an  emi- 
nent republican  writer : 

"  The  division  of  the  legislature  into  two  sepa- 
rate and  independent  branches,  is  founded  on  such 
obvious  principles  of  good  policy,  and  is  so  strongly 
recommended  by  the  unequivocal  language  of  ex- 
perience, that  it  has  obtained  the  general  approba- 
tion of  the  people  of  this  country.  One  great  ob- 
ject of  this  separation  of  the  legislature  into  two 


i' 


OF  CANADA. 


219 


emi- 


houses  acting  separately,  and  with  co-ordinate 
powers,  is  to  destroy  the  evil  effecis  of  sudden  and 
strong  excitement,  and  of  precipitate  measures, 
springing  from  passion,  caprice,  prejudice,  personal 
influence,  and  party  intrigue,  and  which  have  been 
found  by  sad  experience,  to  exercise  a  potent  and 
dangerous  sway  in  single  assemblies.  A  hasty  de- 
cision is  not  so  likely  to  arrive  to  the  solemnities  of 
a  law  when  it  is  to  be  arrested  in  its  course  and 
made  to  undergo  the  deliberation,  and  probably  the 
jealous  and  critical  revision,  of  another  and  a  rival 
body  of  men,  sitting  in  a  different  place,  and  under 
better  advantages,  to  avoid  the  prepossessions  and 
correct  the  errors  of  the  other  branch.  The  legis- 
lature of  Pennsylvania  and  Georgia  consisted  ori- 
ginally of  a  single  house.  The  instability  and  pas- 
sion which  marked  their  proceedings  were  very 
visible  at  the  time,  and  the  subject  of  much  public 
animadversion:  and  in  the  subsequent  reform  of  their 
constitutions,  the  people  were  so  sensible  of  this  de- 
fect, and  of  the  inconvenience  they  had  suffered  from 
it,  that  in  both  states  a  senate  was  introduced.  No 
portion  of  the  political  history  of  mankind  is  more 
full  of  instructive  lessons  on  this  subject,  or  contains 
more  striking  proofs  of  the  faction,  insta'bility,  and 
misery  of  states  under  the  dominion  of  a  single,  un- 
checked assembly,  than  those  of  the  Italian  repub- 
lics of  the  middle  ages,  and  which  in  great  numbers, 
and  with  dazzling  but  transient  splendour,  in  the  in- 
terval between  the  fall  of  the  western  and  eastern 
empire  of  the  Romans.*    They  were  all  alike  ill- 

*  I  would  refer  the  reader,  if  he  feels  inclined  to  pursue  this 
subject,  to  Sir  James  M<Intosh*s  celebrated  Introductory  Lecture, 


1 1  'I 


'■4. 


i  J1 


li 


'\  J 


11 


Lf  I 


220 


THB  BUBBLES 


constituted,  with  a  single  unbalanced  assembly. 
They  were  all  alike  miserable,  and  ended  in  similar 
disgrace. 

The  second  demand  was  that  the  executive  coun- 
cil should  be  converted  into  a  ministry  responsible 
to  the  assembly.  The  existence  of  a  council  to  ad- 
vise the  governor  in  the  conduct  of  affairs  may  be 
traced  back  to  the  first  establishment  of  a  civil  go- 
vernment in  this  province  under  the  authority  of 
Great  Britain.     The  royal  instructions  to  General 

* 

Murray,  dated  7th  December,  17G3,  commanded 
him  to  appoint  a  council  as  therein  specified.  The 
statute  of  the  14th  Geo.  III.,  c.  83  established  it 
in  a  more  formal  manner,  and  conferred  upon  it 
certain  legislative  powers ;  but  in  1791  the  consti- 
tutional act  provided  for  the  existence  of  two  coun- 
cils, a  legislative  and  an  executive  one ;  and  accord- 
ingly, by  royal  instructions,  dated  the  16th  Sep- 
tember of  that  year,  the  latter  was  appointed  to 
consist  of  nine  members,  with  a  salary  to  each  one 
respectively  of  one  hundred  pounds.  Additional  or 
honorary  members  have  since  been  occasionally 
added  to  the  board.  Of  the  functions  of  the  execu- 
tive council  the  most  comprehensive  description  is 
that  they  are  bound  to  give  their  advice  to  the  go- 
vernor whenever  it  is  requested.*  There  are  cer- 
tain cases  in  which  the  governor  is  required  to  act 
by  and  with  their  advice,  but  in  far  the  greater  part 
of  the  business  of  government  he  is  at  liberty  to  re- 


written in  1797;  in  which  by  anticipation  he  composed  with  great 
skill  and  ability  the  condemnation  of  his  own  conduct  on  the  Re- 
form Bill. 

*  See  Appendix  to  repoK  of  Commissioners. 


or  CANADA. 


221 


ccive  their  advice  or  not  as  he  pleases.  It  audits 
public  accounts,  has  some  direction  of  the  crown 
lands,  and  constitutes  a  court  of  appeal.  It  can 
assemble  only  on  summons  from  the  governor,  is 
sworn  to  secrecy,  and  confers  no  privilege  on  its 
members  of  either  recording  their  several  opinions 
or  entering  their  protests  individually. 

This  body,  it  is  demanded,  should  be  converted 
into  a  ministry  and  be  made  responsible  to  the  as- 
sembly ;  the  answer  to  this  is  strongly  and  pointedly 
given  in  the  report  of  the  commissioners  :— 

"  The  house  of  assembly,  in  their  answer  to  the 
governor's  speech  at  the  opening  of  the  late  session, 
and  in  their  subsequent  address  to  his  Majesty,  dated 
the  26th  of  February,  1836,  expressed  their  desire 
for  a  '  constitutional  responsibility '  of  the  executive 
council,  based  on  the  practice  of  the  United  King- 
dom.  We  have  already  had  occasion  to  advert  to 
this  proposal  incidentally  in  our  report  of  the  12th 
of  March,  but  a  recapitulation  of  what  we  then  ad- 
vanced, and  some  farther  examination  of  the  project, 
may  not  be  superfluous  here,  especially  as  the  sub- 
ject has  excited  such  keen  interest  in  Upper  Canada 
since  the  time  when  we  last  noticed  it.  On  that  oc- 
casion we  observed,  that  while  in  England  it  was  a 
maxim  of  the  constitution  that  no  wrong  could  be 
imputed  to  the  sacred  person  of  his  Majesty,  the 
head  of  the  executive  here  was  a  servant  of  his  Ma- 
jesty, responsible  to  the  King  and  to  parliament  for 
his  conduct;  that  therefore  it  was  necessary  that 
his  measures  should  be  under  his  control,  in  like 
manner  as  their  consequences  rested  upon  his  cha- 
racter; that  to  render  the  executive  council  respon- 
sible to  any  but  the  governor  himself,  would  de- 


'ii'i 


■■:» 


1  Ip'.I 


.11 


w 


322 


THE  RUBBLES 


mand  the  allotment  to  them  of  new  powers  commen- 
surate with  their  new  responsibility,  and  would  re- 
quire a  corresponding  diminution  of  the  powers  of 
the  governor;  that  thus  the  direct  tendency  of  a 
council,  responsible  in  the  sense  wc  were  then  con- 
sidering, was  to  withdraw  part  of  the  administra- 
tion from  his  Majesty's  representative  in  this  pro- 
vince, and  to  abridge  to  that  extent  the  efficiency 
of  the  functionary  on  whom,  above  all  others,  his 
Majesty  must  rely  for  retaining  the  allegiance  of 
the  colony. 

"  We  would  now  remark  farther,  that  the  ques- 
tion is  not  between  responsibility  and  irresponsibi- 
lity absolutely,  but  only  as  to  a  peculiar  sort  of  re- 
sponsibility, which  it  is  wished  to  attach  to  the  ex- 
ecutive council.  The  weightiest  responsibility  which 
can  attach  to  any  man  in  matters  of  a  public  nature 
for  which  he  is  nut  punishable  by  law,  ur  by  loss  of 
office,  is  the  accountability  to  public  opinion,  and 
from  this  the  executive  counsellors  are  not  even  now 
exempt,  though  in  consequence  of  the  rule  of  secrecy 
(which  we  shall  presently  propose  materially  to  re- 
lax,) they  are  not  so  much  open  to  it  as  might  be 
wished.  They  are  already  amenable  to  the  courts 
of  law  for  any  offence,  legally  punishable,  which 
maybe  brought  home  to  them;  they  would  also, 
we  apprehend,  be  made  amenable  to  the  jurisdiction 
of  any  court  which  may  be  established  for  the  trial 
of  impeachments  against  public  functionaries ;  and 
they  are  liable  to  be  dismissed  by  the  same  autho- 
rity which  appoints  them.  These  different  liabili- 
ties constitute  a  responsibility,  than  which  we  know 
not  what  other  is  borne  by  any  public  servants. 

''  But  if  the  counsellors  were  rendered  accountable 


or  OAlf  ADA. 


223 


for  the  acts  of  governinont,  and  acconntnblo  not  to 
the   executivo   authority  by  which   they   aro   ap- 
])ointcd,  but  immediately  to  the  house  of  assembly, 
we  think  that  a  state  of  things  wo  ild  be  produced 
incompatible  with  the  connexion  between  a  colony 
and  the  mother  country.     The  council  having  to 
answer  for  the  course  of  government,  must  in  jus- 
tice be  allowed  also  to  control  it;  the  responsibility, 
therefore,  of  the  governor  to  his  Majesty  must  also 
cease,  and  the  very  functions  of  governor,  instead  of 
being  discharged   by  the  person  expressly  nomi- 
nated for  that  high  trust,  would   in  reality  be  di- 
vided among  such  gentlemen  as  from  time  to  time 
might  be  carried  into  the  council  by  the  pleasure  of 
the  assembly.     The  course  of  afiairs  would  depend 
exclusively  on  the  revolutioiis  of  party  within  the 
province.     All  union  with  the  empire,  through  the 
head  of  the  executive,  would  be  at  an  end ;  the 
country  in   short  would  be  virtually  independent! 
and  if  this  be  the  object  aimed  at,  it  ought  to  be  put 
in  its  proper  light,  and  argued  on  its  proper  grounds, 
and  not  disguised  under  the  plausible  demand  of  as- 
similating the  constitution  of  these  provinces  to  that 
of  the  mother  country." 

I  shall  not  weaken  the  effect  of  this  by  any  re- 
marks of  my  own,  but  merely  observe,  that  if  a 
majority  in  the  house,  appointing  the  legislative 
council,  and  controlling  the  executive,  is  not  a  state 
of  independence  as  regards  Great  Britain,  and  of 
despotism  as  regards  the  province,  it  must  at  least 
be  admitted,  that  it  confers  all  the  advantages  of 
such  a  condition  but  the  name. 

The  third  was  a  demand  for  the  repeal  of  the 
Tenures  Act  and  the  Land  Company's  Act.    On 


I 


II 


1^1 

•ft 


u 


ii 

ill;! 


l! 


^1 


;'  !| 


ii 


224 


THE  BUBBLES 


neither  of  these  topics  is  it  necessary  to  dwell 
longer  than  to  explain  the  nature  of  them.  I  have 
already  observed  that  Canada  was  subject  to  the 
old  feudal  law  of  France,  and  I  refer  you  to  page 
36  of  this  work  for  an  account  of  their  more  pro- 
minent features.  The  inconvenience  of  this  sort  of 
tenure  has  been  very  strongly  felt,  and  particularly 
in  towns,  as  preventing  the  transfer  of  property  and 
its  consequent  improvement.  The  English  popula- 
tion, especially  of  Montreal,  complain  that  to  allow 
the  exercise  of  seigneurial  rights  over  a  city  de- 
stined by  its  situation  to  become  a  great  commer- 
cial emporium,*  is  not  merely  to  give  a  fatal  wound 
to  the  progress  of  the  city  itself,  but  it  is  weakly, 
impolitically,  and  unjustly  to  sacrifice  the  interests 
of  trade  and  of  future  generations,  throughout  a 
large  portion  of  both  provinces,  to  which  its  ex- 
tended commerce  under  happier  auspices,  might  be 
capable  of  giving  prosperity  and  comfort.  They 
say  that  the  lods  et  ventes,  or  mutation  fines,  amount- 
ing by  law  to  one  twelfth  of  the  price  upon  every 
sale,  constitute  one  of  the  greatest  grievances,  but 
by  no  means  the  only  one,  arising  from  the  present 
tenure,  and  which  cannot  be  removed  while  the 
seigneury  continues  to  be  held  in  mortmain. 

Supposing  a  manufactory  or  building,  worth 
£12,000,  to  be  erected  upon  a  lot  not  worth  £100, 
if  the  proprietor  has  occasion  to  sell,  and  could 
even  find  a  purchaser  willing  to  give  him  the  sum 
he  has  expended  in  the  erection  of  the  edifice,  he  is 
nevertheless  liable  to  lose  £1,000  as  a  punishment 
for  having  had  the  industry,  the  means,  and  the  en- 


*  See  Letters  of  Anti-Bureauerat. 


OF  CANADA. 


225 


terprise  to  build;  because  the  claim  of  the  seigneurs 
is  not  the  twelfth  of  the  original  value  of  the  ground 
merely,  but  the  twelfth  of  the  amount  of  the  money 
and  labour  of  others  laid  out  upon  the  building  also. 

This,  under  the  feudal  system,  becomes  a  privi- 
leged debt  to  the  seigneurs,  who  have  not  expended 
a  farthing.  But  this  is  not  all — the  next  and  the 
next  vendor,  ad  injitnlum,  must  each  in  turn  lose  to 
the  seigneurs  a  twelfth  of  the  purchase-money.  So 
that  if,  in  the  exigencies  of  trade,  or  by  inevitable 
misfortunes,  the  building  should  change  hands  a 
certain  number  of  times,  the  seigneurs  will  benefit 
by  these  evils  to  the  amount  of  £12,000,  the  full  cost 
of  the  edifice,  to  which  they  have  contributed  no- 
thing, being  one  hundred  and  twenty  times  the  ori- 
ginal value  of  the  lot.  Instances  are  known  where 
the  claim  for  lads  et  ventes,  deferred  until  the  con- 
currence of  several  sales,  has  swept  away  at  once 
the  whole  price  for  which  ihe  lot,  buildings,  and 
a^l,  have  been  sold. 

It  has  been  asserted*  by  men  of  great  local  know- 
ledge, that  the  entire  value  of  all  the  real  estate  and 
buildings  in  the  city  of  Montreal  (the  property  of, 
and  erected  at  the  cost  of  many  thousands  of  indi- 
viduals) must,  every  forty  years  or  less,  be  paid  into 
the  hands  of  the  seigneurs ;  and  this  is  exclusive  of 
the  rents  of  the  seigneury.  Thus  the  value  of  all 
the  real  estate  and  buildings  existing  forty  years 
ago,  when  the  buildings  were  much  fewer,  and  the 
value  of  the  real  estate  far  less  than  at  present,  has 
certainly,  within  the  last  forty  years,  passed  into 
their  hands.  In  Hke  manner  the  number  of  buildings, 
and  value  of  real  estate,  will  of  necessity  be  so 


■•1 

k 

If 


/!!! 


'I  .ii 


\Uv 


1-ri 


20 


J.  Thom,  Esq. 


11 


2-20 


THE  BUBBLES 


much  augmented  during  the  next  forty  years,  that 
at  the  end  of  that  period  it  is  likely  that  the  present 
value  of  all  the  real  estate  and  buildings  will  also 
have  passed  into  their  hands,  should  the  feudal 
tenure  be  allowed  by  sufferance  still  to  retain  its 
possession.  It  is  to  be  remarked  that  this  enor- 
mous contribution,  this  appalling  and  blighting  ex- 
action, is  principally  raised  from  improvements  of 
which  Englishmen  and  English  commerce  are  the 
creators  and  cause. 

This  old  law  also  allows  of  a  system  of  mortgage 
called  hypothcque,  which  may  affect  the  land  in  a 
variety  of  ways  without  enabling  any  one  creditoi' 
of  the  owner  of  the  land  to  know  what  is  passing 
or  has  passed  between  his  debtor  and  any  other 
person.  The  system  of  general  mortgage  aggra- 
vates in  a  tenfold  degree  the  evils  of  secret  obliga- 
tions. For  where  mortgages  spring  from  such  a 
variety  of  circumstances,  and  are  created  in  such  a 
variety  of  ways,  their  secrecy,  even  if  they  wore 
special,  would  be  sufficiently  pernicious;  but  their 
generality  engenders  evils  absolutely  intolerable  and 
altogether  incredible.  Through  that  generality  of 
mortgages,  a  man  cannot  hold  real  property  for  an 
hour  without  vitiating  its  title  to  the  amount  of  all 
his  previously  granted  notarial  obligations.  In  this 
way,  a  man  may  pollute  the  title  of  real  property, 
that  virtually  never  belonged  to  him.  He  may  have 
bought  a  farm  or  a  house  on  credit,  may  have  been 
obliged  by  want  of  funds  to  restore  it  to  the  seller, 
and  may  thus  have  burdened  it  with  a  hundred 
previously  contracted  debts  of  indefinite  amount. 

The  lacit  hypotheque  is  of  five  kinds: — 1.  The 
dower  of  his  wife,  unless  barred  by  an  ante-nuptial 


or  CAiVADA. 


22? 


-ontract;  2.  Security  to  his  ward,  in  the  event  of 
his  being  appointed  guardian  to  any  minor,  which 
he  may  be  without  his  own  consent,  the  office  being 
in  many  cases  compulsory;  3.  The  same  obligation 
in  the  event  of  his  being  named  curator,  trustee,  or 
administrator  of  any  intestate  person ;  4.  The  obli- 
gation of  an  heir,  entering  on  his  inheritance,  to 
the  ])ayment  of  the  debts  of  the  person  from  whom 
he  received  it,  or  sans  benefice  (Vinventaire;  5th,  and 
lastly.  The  liability  of  public  servants  for  thd  due 
performance  of  their  trusts.  The  wife's  dower, 
moreover,  is  the  inheritance  of  the  children  of  the 
marriage,  and  consequently  an  entail  is  created  by 
it,  as  well  as  a  life  interest. 

The  British  government  thought  it  was  conferring 
a  great  benefit  u[)on  the  Lower  Canadians  in  pro- 
posing to  change  the  tenures,  so  as  to  get  rid  of 
those  circumstances  which  thus  depreciated  the 
value  of  land,  and  retarded  the  improvement  of  Ca- 
nadian trade  and  agriculture;  and  all  unbiassed  men 
would,  and  did,  agree  with  the  government  on  this 
point. 

The  first  provision  on  this  subject  consisted  of 
two  clauses  of  the  Canada  Trade  Act  (3  Geo.  IV., 
o.  IkO,  s.  31  &  32,)  hy  which  his  Majesty  was  em- 
powered to  agree  with  all  seigneurs  for  the  com- 
mutation of  their  dues  to  the  Crown,  and  also  to 
comftlute  with  such  censitaires  as  held  immediately 
of  the  Crown,  and  to  re-grant  both  to  one  class  and 
the  other  their  lands  in  free  and  common  soccage. 
An  addition  to,  and  amendment  of  this  Act,  was 
passed  the  6  Geo.  IV.,  c.  59. 

The  most  important  clauses  are  as  follow : 

Sec.  1 — Provides  for  the  commutation  (on  re- 
QUQ^X)  of  the  tenures  of  land  held  of  the  Crown. 


.;  :i 

i 


|M1 


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1 


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I 


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THE  BUBBLES 


t: 


Sect.  2 — Provides  that  rights  of  the  seigneur  shall 
not  be  affected  till  such  commutation  is  fully  made. 

Sec.  S — Declares  that  persons  holding  lands  in 
fief,  and  obtaining  a  commutation  from  the  Crown, 
shall  be  bound  to  grant  a  like  commutation,  if  re- 
quired, to  those  holding  under  them,  for  such  in- 
demnity as  shall  be  fixed  by  experts,  or  (sec.  4,) 
by  proceedings  in  a  court  of  law. 

Sec.  5 — Declares  that  on  such  agreement  or  ad- 
judication the  tenure  shall  bo  converted  into  free 
and  common  soccage,  but   sec.   6  provides  that 
this  shall  not  discharge  a  man  of  dues  or  services  .^ 
then  accrued  to  the  lord.  .   ■. 

Sec.  7 — Persons  applying  for  commutation  are 
to  give  public  notice  to  mortgagees  and  others 
having  claims  on  the  lands. 

8ec.  8 — Lands  holden  in  free  and  common  soc- 
cage in  Lower  Canada,  arc  to  be  subject  to  the 
laws  of  England. 

Sec.  9 — Provided,  nevertheless,  that  nothing-. 
iicrein  contained  shall  extend  to  prevent  his  Majesty, 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  legislative  coun- 
cil and  assembly  of  the  province  of  Lower  Canada, 
from  making  and  enacting  any  such  laws  or  statutes 
as  may  be  necessary  for  the  better  adapting  the 
before-mentioned  rules  of  the  laws  of  England,  or 
any  of  them,  to  the  local  circumstances  and  con- 
dition  of  the  said  province  of  Lower  Canj\tla^and 
the  inhabitants  thereof.  "* 

Such  are  the  provisions  of  the  act,  the  repeal  of 
which  is  so  imperiously  demanded.  Unrcasonabfe, 
however,  as  the  request  was,  thus  to  make  a  disgrace- 
ful  retrogade  movement  to  barbarous  usages,  it  was 
met  in  the  only  way  it  could  be:  the  act  1  W.  IV., 
c,  20  was  passed,  leaving  the  whole  subject  to  be 


\ 

4, 


L 


OF   CAN.SDA. 


220 


.V 


dealt  with  by  the  provincial  legislature  as  it  should 
think  fit.  The  repeal  of  the  Canada  Land  Compa- 
nies act  is  next  insisted  upon.  On  this  subject,  it 
will  be  quite  suflicient  to  state  tiieir  demand,  to  which 
no  honest  man  could  give  any  other  answer  than  il 
has  already  received — an  unqualified  refusal.  Tliey 
require  that  an  actof])arliamcnt,  incorporating  this 
company,  and  conferring  upon  them  certain  privi- 
leges, and  a  title  to  lands,  upon  which  they  have  ex- 
ponded  large  sums  of  money,  should  be  repealed, 
and  the  property  confiscated.  The  only  charitable 
-way  of  viewing  the  demand,  is  to  consider  it  not 
so  much  an  evidence  of  moral  turpitude,  as  a  ma- 
nifestation of  contempt  and  insolence  towards  the 
party,  to  whom  it  was  addressed.* 

Fourth.— Then  followed  a  demand  for  the  uncon- 
stitutional surrender  of  the  crown  revenues.  You 
will  recollect  that  the  Canada  committee  of  parlia- 
ment, as  it  was  called,  reported,  that  although  the 
flutics,  before  alluded  to,  were  vested  in  the  Crown, 
they  were  prepared  to  say  the  real  interests  of  the 
colony  would  be  best  promoted  by  placing  them 
under  the  control  of  the  house  of  assembly.  Being 
])repared  to  say  a  thing,  and  being  prepared  to  show 


'11 

lit-- 


u  ^J 


and 


*  But  although  tljey  cousidered  every  institution  and  usage  of 
their  own  so  saoaadas  to  admit  of  no  cliange,  they  viewed  those 
of  the  Engflish  in  a  very  different  liglit.  The  conceding  and  re- 
spectfurconduct  of  Government  formed  an  amusing  contrast  with 
their  audacious  insolence.  To  mark  their  contempt  for  regal 
rigli^s,  they  passed  an  Act  to  make  notice  of  action  served  on  the 
attorney-general,  for  damages  against  the  Crown,  legal  and  bind- 
ing. If  the  suit  went  against  tlie  Crown,  it  was  provided,  that 
execution  might  issue  against  the  governor,  and  the  furniture,  or 
tiie  guns  of  the  fortress. 

20* 


I 

m 


% 


230 


TUB  BUBBLES 


or  prove  a  thing,  happen,  unfortunately,  to  be  wide- 
ly different;  and,  as  the  committee  contented  them- 
selves with  the  former,  we  are  not  in  possession  of 
the  grounds  upon  which  they  felt  prepared  to  say 
so.  They  were  doubtless  quite  sufficient  at  the 
time,  although  they,  unfortunately,  did  not  continue 
to  be  so  long  enough  for  the  act  (1st  and  2d  Will. 
IV.)  to  reach  Canada.  For  the  real  interests  of  the 
colony,  it  is  very  evident,  have  not  been  best  pro- 
moted thereby.  It  would  appear  also  that  that  great 
and  single-minded  man,  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
(who  probably  knew  quite  as  much  of  the  French 
as  the  committee  did,)  was  not  prepared  to  say  so, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  he  entered  his  protest  against 
the  measure:  "These  persons,"  said  he,  (meaning 
the  judges,)  "  will  thus  become  dependent  upon  the 
continued  favour  of  the  legislative  assembly,  for  the 
reward  of  their  labours  and  services;  the  administra- 
tion, within  the  province  of  Lower  Canada,  can  no 
longer  be  deemed  independent;  and  his  Majesty's 
subjects  will  have  justice  administered  to  them  by 
judges,  and  will  be  governed  by  officers  situated  as 
above  described."  The  event  has  justified  his  grace's 
expectations,  and  disappointed  those  of  the  commit- 
tee. This  unconditional  surrender  was  made  on  the 
full  understanding  that  a  civil  list  would  be  granted, 
and  the  administration  of  justice  permanently  pro- 
vided for: — the  former  they  refused.  They  had 
now  got  the  officers  of  government  at  their  mercy, 
and  were  determined  to  keep  them  so;  and  the 
judges  they  made  independent  of  the  Crown,  but 
dependent  upon  them  for  their  annual  allowance, 
depriving  the  government  of  the  power  of  removing 


OF  CAXADA. 


931 


them,  except  upon  impeachment,  and  reserving  the 
right  themselves  to  remove  them  at  pleasure,  by 
withdrawing  their  salaries.  Having  succeeded  in 
this,  they  now  demanded  the  rents  of  the  real  estate, 
belonging  to  the  King,  in  Canada,  and  this  too  they 
are  promised,  when  they  shall  vote  the  civil  list, — 
one  of  the  resolutions  introduced  by  Lord  John  Rus- 
sell, being,  "  That  it  is  expedient  to  place  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  legislature  the  net  proceeds  of  the  here- 
ditary, territorial,  and  casual  revenues  of  the  Crown, 
arising  within  the  province,  in  case  the  said  legisla- 
ture shall  sec  fit  to  grant  a  civil  list,  for  defraying 
the  necessary  charges  of  the  administration  of  justice, 
and  for  the  maintenance  and  unavoidable  expense  of 
certain  of  the  principal  officers  of  the  civil  govern- 
ment of  the  province."  The  great  error  that  has 
been  committed  in  these  unconditional  surrenders  of 
the  revenue  of  the  Crown,  is  in  attempting  to  keep 
up  an  analogy,  that  docs  not  exist,  to  the  practice  in 
England.  The  committee  lost  sight  of  the  impor- 
tant distinction  that  Canada  is  a  colony,  and  that 
what  might  be  very  right  and  proper  here,  would 
be  neither  right  nor  expedient  there.  The  officers 
of  government  are  not  merely  the  officers  of  Canada, 
but  the  officers  of  Great  Britain,  and,  by  giving  the 
legislature  a  control  over  them,  they  surrender  the 
imperial  power  over  the  province.  They  should  be 
removcable,  not  when  the  legislature,  like  the  com- 
mittee of  parliament,  is  "  prepared  to  say  "  so,  but 
when  it  is  "  prepared  to  prove  "  that  they  ought  to 
be;  but  their  salaries  should  be  beyond  the  control  of 
the  local  assembly.  The  position  is  too  obvious,  and 
has  received  too  much  painful  corroboration,  in  re- 
cent events,  to  require  any  farther  comment. 


w 


\f 


M 


m 


4V  ij  -v 


THE  BUHBLES 


Lastly. — They  required  the  management  of  the 
waste  lands  to  be  given  up  to  them.  The  object  of 
this  extraordinary  claim,  now  for  the  first  time  put 
forward  in  the  history  of  colonization,  was  for  the 
avowed  purpose  of  controlling  emigration  from 
Great  Britain,  which  they  had  already  impeded  by 
a  capitation  tax,  by  refusing  to  establish  an  efficient 
quarantine,  or  to  give  aid  to  the  improvement  of  the 
harbour  of  Montreal;  by  endeavouring  to  alarm  set- 
tlers on  the  score  of  insecurity  of  title,  and  in  an  at- 
tem])t  to  ruin  the  banks. 

In  Mr.  Papincau's  celebrated  pamphlet,  to  which. 
I  have  previously  alluded,  he  says,  "  the  protection, 
or,  to  speak  more  plainly,  English  sovereignty  over 
Canada,  brought  other  evils  in  its  train.  A  swarm 
of  Britons  hastened  to  the  shores  of  the  new  colony, 
to  avail  themselves  of  its  advantages  to  improve  their 
own  condition."  History  aflbrds  so  many  proofs  of 
the  license  used  by  a  people  when  flushed  with  vic- 
tory, that  this  gentleman's  surprise  at  the  English 
taking  the  liberty  of  settling  on  the  waste  lands  of  a 
colony,  which  they  had  so  gallantly  conquered,  af- 
fords a  pleasing  proof  that  the  natural  simplicity  of 
the  Canadian  character  was  not  yet  wholly  destroyed 
by  the  study  of  politics.  "  That,  however,*'  he  con^^ 
tinued,  "  was  not  sufficient  for  their  cupidity,  they 
established  themselves  in  our  cities,  and  made  them- 
selves masters  of  all  the  trade,  as  well  foreign  as  do- 
mestic." "  For  many  years  they  took  but  a  small 
share  in  our  political  affiiirs.  The  elections  remained 
free  from  their  intrigues  because  they  could  have 
no  chance  of  practising  any  amongst  a  population 
nine  times  more  numerous  than  themselves.     But 


OF  CANADA. 


a  33 


within  these  five  or  six  years  they  go  about  boldly  " 

To  prevent  this  evil,  which 

was  growing  in  magnitude  every  year,  "  of  their  in- 
teresting themselves  in  the  political  affairs  of  the 
province,"  in  proportion  to  their  numbers,  they  de- 
manded the  control  of  the  wild  lands,  and,  reverting 
to  abstract  principles,  started  this  new  doctrine: 

"  That  in  any  new-discovered  or  newly  occupied 
country  the  land  belongs  to  the  government  of  the 
nation  taking  possession  of  it,  and  that  settlers  in  it, 
so  long  as  they  retain  the  character  only  of  emi- 
grants from  the  mot-her  country,  can  claim  no  more 
than  what  has  been  granted  to  them  as  individuals; 
but  that  when  a  distinct  boundary  has  been  assigned 
to  them,  and  they  come  to  be  incorporated  into  a 
body  politic,  with  a  power  of  legislation  for  their  in- 
ternal affairs,  the  territory  within  their  boundary  be- 
comes, as  a  matter  of  right,  the  proi)crty  of  the  body 
politic,  or  of  the  inhabitants,  and  is  to  be  disposed  of 
according  to  rules  framed  by  their  local  legislature, 
and  no  longer  by  that  of  the  parent  state." 

On  this  point  the  commissioners  reported  as  fol- 
low:-^* ^ 

"  Thi^  proposition  rests,  as  we  understand  it,  en- 
tirely upoH  abstract  grounds,  and  we  believe  that 
we  are  authorized  in  saying  that  it  never  has  been 
entertained  by  Great  Britain  or  any  other  colonizing 
power.  That  the  ungranted  lands  in  any  colony  re- 
main the  property  of  the  Crown  has,  on  the  contrary, 
we  l^lieve,  been  the  universally  received  doctrine 
in  Great  Jiritain,  and  although  the  constitutional  act 
does  irot  expressly  assert  a  right  of  which  its  framers 
probably  never  contemplated  a  doubt,  the  lands  of 


I 


If  11 


'm 


f;;ii 


■!t 


J  3  1 


THE  nUUULKS 


the  province  are  mentioned  in  tlic  3Gth  clause  as 
being  thereafter  to  be  granted  liy  ills  Majesty  anil 
his  successors.  While,  therefore,  we  arc  quite  ready 
to  admit,  that  in  the  disposal  of  the  ungranlcd  lands 
the  interests  of  the  first  settlers  ought  never  to  he 
lost  sight  of,  and  also  that  the  wishes  of  the  local  le- 
gislature should  be  consulted,  provided  the)'"  arc 
made  known  to  his  Majesty  in  a  conslilulional  man- 
ner, we  cannot  recognise  in  any  way  the  abstract 
principle  set  up  for  it  in  opposition,  not  merely  to 
the  general  laws  and  analogies  of  the  ]5rilish  empire, 
but  to  the  clear  meaning  of  the  Act  by  which  alone 
tlic  body  preferring  the  claim  has  its  existence.  It 
must,  we  apprehend,  be  the  main  object  in  every 
scheme  of  colonization,  that  the  parent  state  should 
have  the  right  to  establish  her  own  people  on  such 
terms  as  she  may  think  fit  in  the  country  colonized: 
and  at  present,  perhaps,  her  North  American  colo- 
nies are  more  valuable  to  England  as  receptacles  for 
her  surplus  population  than  in  any  other  way.  Wc 
cannot,  therefore,  believe  that  England  will  consent 
to  a  doctrine  that  will  go  to  place  at  the  discretion 
of  anv  local  legislature  the  twms  on  which  emigrants 
from  her  shores  are  ta  be  leccived  inta'ner  colo- 


nies. 


f} 


i 


Here,  however,  the  government,  again  showed  its 
anxiety  to  gratify  their  wishes  as  far  as  it  was  pos- 
sible; and  in  their  undeviating  spirit  of  conciliation, 
although  they  could  not  grant  the  whole  demand, 
endeavoured  to  meet  them  half  way,  by  replying 
that  they  had  no  objection  to  the  legislalBre  pre- 
scribing the  rule  of  management  for  the -Crown 
lands,  but  their  application  must  be  confined  \o  the 


U 


ct 


OF  CANADA. 


1^35 


executive.  Such  arc  the  demands  which  were  then 
made,  and  are  still  put  forward  by  the  leaders 
of  the  Canadian  party;  demands,  which  it  is  evi- 
dent amount  to  a  claim  by  one  part  of  her  Ma- 
jesty's subjects,  to  an  independent  control  of  the 
colony. 


• 


0 


♦ 


i:fl 


(I 


'«! 


li 


M 


1 


;  m 

\  rti 
ill 


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230 


THE  nUPHLKS 


LETTER  XI. 


As  the  assembly  had  separated  vvitli  a  declara- 
tion that  they  would  never  vote  a  civil  list,  until 
all  their  requests  were  granted,  it  was  necessary  for 
parliament  to  interfere,  and  Lord  John  lUisscll  pro- 
posed and  carried  certain  resolutions,  of  which  the 
substance  is  as  follows  : 

"  Istly.  That  in  the  existing  state  of  Lower  Ca- 
nada, it  is  unadvisable  to  make  the  legislative  coun- 
cil elective,  but  that  it  is  expedient  to  adopt  mea- 
sures for  securing  to  that  branch  of  the  legislature 
a  greater  degree  of  public  confidence. 

"2dly.  That  while  it  is  expedient  to  improve  the 
composition  of  the  executive  council,  it  is  unadvi- 
sable to  subject  it  to  the  responsibility  demanded 
by  the  house  of  assembly.  •• 

"3dly.  That  the  legal  title  of  the  British  Ame- 
rican J  and  Company  to  the  land  they  hold  under 
their  charter,  and  an  act  of  the  imperial  parliament, 
ouffht  to  bo  maintained  inviolate.  ' 

"  4thly.  That  as  soon  as  the  IcgisHiture  shall 
make  provisions  by  law  for  discharging  lands  from 
feudal  dues  and  services,  and  for  removing  any 
doubts  as  to  the  incidents  of  the  tenure  of  land,  in 
free  and  common  soccage,  it  is  expedient  to  repeal 
the  Canada  Tenures  Act,  and  the  Canada  5^rade 
Act,  so  far  as  the  latter  relates  to  the  (pnures  of 
land  in  this  province,  saving,  nevertheless,  to  all 


or   CANADA. 


V».'J7 


\)orsons  the  rights  vested  in  them  under  or  in  vir- 
Uio  of  tijosc  Acts. 

•'  Otiiiy.  Thiit,  for  defraying  the  arrears  duo,  on 
nceount  of  the  established  and  customary  cimrges 
<jf  the  mhninistriition  of  justice,  and  of  tlie  civil  go- 
vernment of  the  province,  it  is  expedient,  that,  af- 
ter apj>lying  for  tliat  |)iu'pose  such  balance  as  siiould, 
on  the  lOlli  day  of  April  last,  be  in  the  hands  of  tho 
receiver-general,  arising  from  the  hereditary,  terri- 
torial, and  casual  revenues  v.*"  tho  Crown,  the  go- 
vernor of  the  province  be  empowered  to  issue,  out 
of  any  oth(!r  moneys  in  tho  hands  of  the  receiver- 
general,  such  farther  sums  as  shall  be  necessary  to 
cllect  tho  payment  of  such  arrears  and  charges  up 
to  tho  loth  of  Ajn-il  last. 

"  Othly.  That  it  is  expedient  to  place  at  the  dis- 
l)osal  of  the  legislature  the  net  proceeds  of  the  he^ 
reditary,  territorial,  and  casual  revenues  of  tho 
Crown,  arising  within  the  province  in  case  the  said 
legislature  shall  see  fit  to  grant  a  civil  list  for  de- 
fraying the  necessary  charges  of  tho  administration 
of  justice,  and  for  the  maintenance  and  unavoidable 
expenses  of  certain  of  the  principal  oflicers  of  tho 
civil  government  of  tho  province;  and,  lastly, 

"  That  it  is  expedient  that  tho  legislatures  ot 
Jjovver  and  Upper  Canada  respectively,  be  autho- 
rized to  make  provision  for  the  joint  regulation  and 
adjustment  of  cjuestions  respecting  their  trade  and 
commerce,  and  of  other  questions  wherein  they  have 
a  common  interest."  '     ■ 

Whether  the  spirit  of  concession  had  not  been 

heretofore  carried  too  far,  and  whether  the  public 

affairs  of  Canada  ought  to  have  been  suffered  (even 

for  the  amiable  and  praiseworthy  object  of  endea- 

M  ■  •  ■ ..  V.  ,  .•  ,,/ 


i 


238 


THE  BUBBLES 


vouring,  if  possible,  to  satisfy  the  dominant  party  in 
the  house,)  ever  to  have  arrived  at  this  crisis,  are 
questions  upon  which  I  have  no  desire,  on  this  oc- 
casion, to  enter,  being  foreign  to  my  object,  which 
is  to  show  you  that  the  French-Canadians  have  no 
claim  to  sympathy  "  as  our  oppressed  and  enslaved 
brethren."    But  that  these  resolutions  were  indis- 
pensable, that  they  were  not  resorted  to  till  they 
were  necessary,  and  that  parliament  was  justified 
in  this  exercise  of  its  supreme  authority,  no  unpre- 
judiced and  right-thinking  man  can  doubt.    A  co- 
lony is  a  dependent  province,  and  Great  Britain  is 
an  independent  metropolitan  state.     The  control- 
ling power  must  obviously  be   greater  than  the 
power  controlled.     The  power,  therefore,  of  a  co- 
lony being  limited,  if  it  assumes  to  pass  those  li- 
mits, it  is  no   longer  dependent,  but  independent. 
It  is  not  only  the  right  but  the  duty  of  Parliament, 
to  restrain  within  their  constitutional  limits,  provin- 
cial legislatures,  in  the  same  manner  as  it  is  the 
right  of  the  colonists  to  exercise   those  powers 
constitutionally,  and  their  duty  not  to  attempt  to  ex- 
ceed those  limits.     When  one  branch  of  a  legisla- 
ture resolves  that  it  will  never  perform  its  functions 
until  a  co-ordinate  branch,  deriving  its  authority 
from  the  same  source  as  itself,  is  destroyed,  it  ex- 
ceeds its  due  bounds,  or  rather  relinquishes  the  ex- 
ercise of  all  constitutional  power.     In  the  pam- 
phlet already  alluded  toi  Mr.  Papineau  says,  "  The 
constitution  has  ceased  to  exist  of  right,  and  in 
fact  can  no  longer  be  maintained  but  by  force." 
Here,  then,  was  a  case  for  the  legitimate  inter- 
ference of  Parliament,  an  interference  which  no 
reflecting  colonist  will  ever  object  to,  else  there 
would  be  no  appeal  but  to  the  sword  whenever  a 


OF  CANADA. 


239 


designing  demagogue  should  unfortunately  obtain  a 
majority  of  obstructive  members  in  the  assembly; 
but  these  resolutions  were  said  to  be  a  violation  of 
the  declaratory  act  of  1778,  and  an  unconstitu- 
tional mode  of  levying  taxes  on  the  Canadians, 
and  appropriating  their  money  without  their  con- 
sent! 

It  is  not  material  to  the  argument  to  mention,  but 
it  is  a  singular  fact,  that  the  revenue  happens  not  to 
have  been  raised  by  the  people  of  French  origin,  and 
that  therefore  as  far  as  thev  are  concerned,  their 
money  has  not  been  appropriated  without  their  con- 
sent. The  question  is  often  asked  by  the  Upper 
Canadians,  on  what  docs  a  French  inhabitant  pay 
duty  ?*  Is  it,  they  say,  on  woollen  stuffs  of  his  own 
manufacture?  Is  it  on  wooden  shoes,  the  produce 
of  his  forest  ?  Is  it  on  tobacco,  the  produce  of  his 
own  fields  ?  Is  it  on  sugar,  the  juice  of  his  own  ma- 
ple groves?  Is  it  on  wine  which  he  never  tastes? 
Is  it  on  books  which  he  cannot  read ;  or  on  postage 
of  letters  he  cannot  write  ?  Or  is  it  on  spirits  dis- 
tilled from  his  own  grain  ?  But  this  is  not  to  the  pur- 
pose, it  was  money  that  they  had  a  right  to  dispose 
of  themselves,  if  they  had  thought  proper  to  do  so, 
and  must  so  far  be  considered  the  revenue  of  the 
whole  public. 

These  resolutions  imposed  no  taxes,  they  merely 
applied  towards  the  discharge  of  salaries  of  the  ci- 
vil officers  of  the  government,  certain  moneys  al- 
readv  accumulated  under  existing  laws,  in  the  hands 
of  the  treasury,  to  enable  the  executive  to  carry  on 
the  government.  That  it  was  applied  without  their 
consent  to  this  purpose,  is  true,  7iot  because  they  did 


, 


«'!;'.■, 


!    i.| 


'   ■'' 


i 


•  See  IcUers  of  Camillus. 


m 


^v 


1^  I 

i  i-  i 


240 


THE  BUBBLES 


I     ' 

} 


not  consent  to  vote  supplies,  (and  it  is  most  material  to 
observe  this  distinction,)  but  because  they  had  refused 
to  discharge  any  of  their  duties  as  an  assembly,  or  in 
any  manner  to  co-operate  zcith  the  other  branches ;  and 
had  themselves,  by  this  suicidal  act,  suspended  the  con- 
stitution and  throicn  the  xoholc  country  into  anarchy  and 
confusion.  It  was  a  case  fully  within  the  limitation 
prescribed  by  Burke : 

"  For  my  part,"  says  that  great  man,  "  I  look 
upon  the  rights  stated  in  that  act  exactly  in  the  man- 
ner in  which  I  viewed  them  on  its  very  first  pro- 
position, and  which  I  have  often  taken  the  liberty, 
with  great  humility,  to  lay  before  you.  I  look,  I 
say,  on  the  imperial  rights  of  Great  Britain,  and  the 
privileges  which  the  colonists  ought  to  enjoy  under 
these  rights,  to  be  just  the  most  reconcileable  things 
in  the  world.  The  parliament  of  Great  Britain  sits 
at  the  head  of  her  extensive  empire  in  two  capaci- 
ties; one  as  the  local  legislature  of  this  island,  pro- 
viding for  all  things  at  home,  immediately,  and  by 
no  other  instrument  than  the  executive  power.  The 
other,  and  I  think  her  nobler  capacity,  is  what  I 
call  her  imperial  character;  in  which,  as  from  the 
throne  of  heaven,  she  superintends  all  the  several 
inferior  legislatures,  and  guides  and  controls  them 
all  without  annihilating  any.  As  all  these  provin- 
cial legislatures  are  only  co-ordinate  to  each  other, 
they  ought  all  to  be  subordinate  to  her;  else  they 
can  neither  preserve  mutual  peace,  nor  hope  for 
mutual  justice,  nor  eflectualiy  afford  mutual  assis- 
tance. It  is  necessary  to  coerce  the  negligent,  to 
restrain  the  violent,  and  to  aid  the  weak  and  defi- 
cient, by  the  over-ruling  plenitude  of  her  power. 
But  in  order  to  enable  Parliameut  to  answer  all 


OF  GAITADA. 


241 


these  ends  of  provident  and  beneficent  superinten- 
dence, her  powers  must  be  boundless.  The  gentle- 
men who  think  the  powers  of  Parliament  limited, 
may  please  themselves  to  talk  of  requisitions.  But 
suppose  the  requisitions  are  not  obeyed  ?  What ! 
shall  there  be  no  reserved  power  in  the  empire  to 
supply  a  deficiency  which  may  weaken,  divide,  and 
dissipate  the  whole  ? 

"  This  is  what  I  meant  when  1  have  said,  at  va- 
rious times,  that  I  consider  the  power  of  taxing  in 
Parliament  as  an  instrument  of  empire,  and  not  as  a 
means  of  supply. 

"  Such,  sir,  is  my  idea  of  the  condition  of  the 
JJritish  empire,  as  distinguished  from  the  constitution 
of  Britain;  and  on  these  grounds  I  think  subordi- 
nation and,  liberty  mi.y  ho  sufficiently  reconciled 
through  the  whole;  v'  •  '  to  serve  a  refining  spe- 
culatist  or  a  factious  .  igogue,  I  know  not;  but 
enough  surely  for  the  ease  and  happiness  of  man." 

But,  although  the  right  of  Parliament  to  interfere, 
and  its  intention  to  do  so,  were  thus  asserted,  there 
was  still  so  strong  a  repugnance  felt  by  Government 
to  exercise  the  power,  that  they  desired  Lord  Gos- 
ford  to  call  the  assembly  together  again,  and  give 
those  misguided  men  another  opportunity  of  recon- 
sidering their  conduct.  They  met  as  summoned, 
but  again  refused  all  supplies,  which  had  now  been 
withheld  for  five  years,  and  again  declined  to  exer- 
cise any  legislative  functions.  There  was  now  no 
power  to  make  new  laws,  no  means  of  paying  those 
who  administered  the  existing  ones,  no  appropria- 
tion for  the  public  service  in  any  department;  schools 
were  neglected,  roads  unrepaired,  bridges  dilapi- 
lated,  jails  unprovided  for,  temporary  laws  expired 

21* 


I !:. 


242 


THE  BUBDLCS 


or  expiring,  and  confugion  and  disorganization  every 
where;  and  yet  we  are  gravely  told  Parliament  ought 
not  to  have  interfered  !  that  it  was  one  of  the  dear- 
est and  most  sacred  rights  of  the  colonists  to  pro- 
duce this  extraordinary  state  of  things,  and  that 
they  ought  not  to  be  interrupted  in  the  enjoyment 
of  what  had  cost  them  so  much  time  and  trouble  to 
bring  about. 

If  this  opinion  were  founded  on  conscientious 
scruples,  it  would  deserve  our  respect ;  but  it  is  the 
liberality  of  accomplices ;.  and  they  may  well  be  ge- 
nerous who  replenish  their  coffers  by  plunder.  Wc 
must  not  be  surprised,  therefore,  to  find  among  those 
who  invest  the  Canadians  with  this  novel  power, 
men  who  offer  to  mercenaries  the  pillage  of  the 
church,  and  who,  loaded  wiih  the  spoils  of  vested 
rights,  which  they  have  violently  torn  from  their 
lawful  owners,  kindly  bestow  this  stolen  one  upon 
comrades  engaged  in  the  same  unlioly  cause  as 
themselves.  They  are  accwnplislied  and  dexterous 
men,  and,  knowing  the  numerous  covers  of  law^ 
resort  to  its  shelter,  and  boldly  call  upon  the  real 
owners  to  make  out  their  case,  and  prove  their  pro- 
perty. It  is  difiicult  to  decide  whether  the  amiable 
advocates  of  this  intelligible  doctrine  are  best  en- 
titled to  our  pity  or  our  contempt. 

Those  persons  who  had  always  espoused  their 
cause  in  England,  seem  to  have  fully  penetrated 
their  object.  **  I  do  not  marvel,  at  it,"  said  my  Lord 
Brougham  ;  "  to  me  it  is  no  surprise — I  expected  //." 
Wen  of  sanguine  temperament  are  apt  to  expect 
confidently  what  they  desire  ardently.  That  he 
wished  them  to  be  independent,  he  made  no  secret- 
Wliatever  we  may  think  of  his  lordship,  as  a  states- 


OF  CANADA. 


243 


man,  for  entertaining  such  a  patriotic  wish,  we  can- 
not but  admire  the  unflinching  friendship  that  in- 
duced  him,  through  good  report  and  evil  report,  to 
adhere  to  the  cause  he  had  determined  to  advocate. 
That  they  might  not  feel  discouraged  by  partial  re- 
verses, he  held  out  the  language  of  promise  to  them 
that  the  day  was  not  far  distant  when  they  could 
hope  to  realize  the  object  nf  their  wishes.     He  de- 
precated our  thinking  too  harshly  of  them  for  their 
vain  attempt.     "  Where,"  he  continued,  "  in  what 
country — from  what  people  did  they  learn  the  les- 
son? of  whom  but  ourselves,  the  English  people? 
We  it  is  that  have  set  the  example  to  our  Ameri- 
can brethren ;  let  us  beware  how  we  blame  them 
too  harshly  for  following  it."     Not  content  with  in- 
terceding for  their  pardon,  he  solicited,  as  a  boon 
for  them,  what  they  had  failed  in  an  attempt  to 
seize  as  plunder.     "  I  hold  these  colonies,"  he  said, 
"  as  worth  nothing;  the  only  interest  we  have  in  the 
matter  concerns  the  manner  in  which  a  separation, 
sooner  or  later  inevitable,  shall  take  place.     Js  it 
not,  then,  full  time  we  should  make  up  our  minds  to 
a  separation  so  beneficial  to  all  parlies?     These,  my 
lords,  are  not  opinions  to  which  I  have  lately  come ; 
they  are  the  growth  of  many  a  long  year,  and  the 
fruit  of  much  attention  given  to  the  subject."    The 
effect  of  this  language  upon  the  loyal  population  of 
the  provinces  it  is  not  easy  to  conceive.     At  no 
time  could  such  a  doctrine  be  heard  with  indiffer- 
ence, but  during  a  period  of  unusual  excitement  it 
was  too  mischievous  not  to  awaken  a  general  in-» 
dignation.     On  the  minds  of  the  Americans  it  has 
had  a  powerful  effect,  in  speculating  upon  the  result 
of  an  active  sympathy  on  their  part. 


I  J 


I 


f) 


m 


if 


244 


THE  BUBBLES 


Disaffection  having  now  succeeded  in  producing 
anarchy  and  bloodshed,  assumed  the  shape  of  in- 
surrection, the  natural  result  of  so  many  years  of 
agita:'~n.  The  tragical  events  of  this  sad  revolt 
are  to^  recent  and  too  impressive  to  be  forgotten, 
and  the  recital  would  be  as  painful  as  it  is  unneces- 
sary. Anxious,  however,  as  I  am  not  to  dwell  on 
the  mournful  picture  which  it  presents,  justice  re- 
quires that  I  should  pause  and  pay  the  tribute  of  my 
respect  to  the  pious,  amiable,  and  loyal  Catholic 
clergy  of  Canada.  They  have  preserved  a  large 
portion  of  iheir  flock  from  contamination,  and  we 
are  mainly  indebted  to  their  strenuous  exertions 
that  the  rebellion  has  not  been  more  general  and 
more  successful.  They  have  learned  from  painful 
experience,  what  ecclesiastics  have  ever  found  un- 
der similar  circumstances,  tiiat  treason  alvvavs  calls 
in  infidelity  to  its  aid;  that  there  is  a  natural  alliance 
between  the  assailants  of  the  throne  and  the  altar, 
and  that  they  who  refuse  to  render  tribute  toCassar 
are  seldom  known  to  preserve,  for  any  length  of 
time,  "  the  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes."  The 
history  of  this  Canadian  revolt  is  filled  with  instruc- 
tion to  the  people  of  England.  It  teaches  them  the 
just  value  of  the  patriotism  of  those  who  are  the  in- 
temperate advocates  of  extreme  opinions;  it  shows 
that  courage  in  debate  may  sometimes  evaporate  in 
the  field,  and  that  those  who  lead  others  rashly  into 
danger  are  not  unfrequently  the  first  to  desert  them 
basely  in  the  hour  of  need.  It  exhibits  in  bold  re- 
lief the  disastrous  effects  of  incessant  agitation,  and 
demonstrates  that  the  natural  result  of  continued 
concession  to  popular  clamour  is  to  gradually  " 
weaken  the  powers  of  government,  until  society  re- 


OF  CANADA. 


245 


solves  itself  into  its  original  element.  These  truths 
are  too  distinctly  marked  to  require  to  be  retouched. 
He  who  runs  may  road,  but  he  that  would  carry  away 
the  moral  must  pause  and  consider.  It  is  written 
in  the  blood  and  suffering  of  the  colonists,  and  pru- 
dence suggests  the  propriety  of  their  availing  them- 
selves of  the  painful  experience  of  others,  instead 
of  purchasing  it  by  the  severe  and  painful  process 
of  personal  experience.  The  successful  advocacy 
here  of  similar  opinions  must  necessarily  produce 
the  like  results,  aggravated  by  the  increased  power 
of  numbers,  and  the  greater  value  of  the  plunder.  I 
have  seen  enough  of  England  to  admire  it,  of  its 
institutions  to  respect  it,  of  the  character  of  its  peo- 
ple to  love  it,  and  of  the  blessings  conferred  by  its 
limited  monarchy,  to  know  how  to  estimate  the  en- 
viable lot  of  those  who  have  the  good  fortune  to  in- 
habit it. 

O  fortunatos  nim'ium  sua  si  bona  norint. 

I  should  feel  indeed  that  kindness  could  awaken  no 
emotion,  and  hospitality  no  gratitude,  if,  after  having 
received  as  an  obscure  provincial  author,  the  most 
flattering  indulgence,  as  a  colonist,  the  most  hearty 
welcome,  and  a  stranger  the  most  considerate  at- 
tentions, 1  did  not  express  warmly  what  I  feel  deeply. 
My  knowledge  of  its  constitution  preceded  that  of 
its  people ;  and  if  my  studies  have  led  me  to  admire 
its  theory,  personal  observation  of  its  practical  ef- 
fect has  confirmed  and  increased  that  favourable 
impression.  It  is  a  noble  and  admirable  structure ! 
Esto  perpetua. 

Before  I  quit  the  subject  of  this  rebellion  I  must 
allude  to  the  mitigating  circumstances  that  attended 
it.    Excited  by  every  stimulant  that  parliamentary 


I 


1: 


It:' 


« 


240 


THE  BUBBLES 


declamation  could  apply,  or  British  sympathy  sug- 
gest, or  American  republicanism  offer — encouraged 
at  home,  aided  from  abroad,  and  nowhere  opposed 
or  threatened,  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  pros- 
pect of  plunder  and  impunity  seduced  these  mis- 
guided people  from  their  allegiance,  or  that  the  con- 
tagion should  spread  from  Lower  to  Upper  Canada. 
When  such  a  man  as  Hume  was  known  to  be  a  sup- 
porter of  the  government,  can  we  wonder  if  igno- 
rant men,  three  thousand  miles  off,  supposed  he  was 
expressing  the  sentiments  of  that  government,  when 
he  said,  "my  wish  would  be  to  set  the  Canadas  and 
the  whole  of  British  North  America,  free  to  govern 
themselves  as  the  United  States  do,  by  their  own 
representatives,  and  to  cultivate  a  good  connexion 
with  the  mother  country  for  their  mutual  interest. 
Until  that  takes  place,  neither  the  Canadas  nor  Great 
Britain  will  derive  those  advantages  which  they 
ought  to  have  from  a  different  and  more  economical 
management  of  their  resources."  Or  when  confi- 
dentially communicating  to  his  friend,  M'Kenzic, 
a  man  devoted  to  revolutionary  doctrines,  he 
boldly  asserted,  "  Your  triumphant  election  on  the 
ICth,  and  ejection  from  the  assembly  on  the  17th, 
must  hasten  that  crisis  which  is  fast  approaching 
in  the  affairs  of  the  Canadas,  and  which  will  termi- 
nate in  freedom  and  independence  from  the  baneful 
dominatioti  of  the  mother  country,  and  the  tyrannical 
conduct  of  a  small  and  despicable  faction  in  the  co- 
lony."      *'  The  proceedings  between 

1772  and  1782,  in  America,  ought  not  to  be  forgot- 
ten, and  to  the  honour  of  the  Americans,  and  for 
the  interests  of  the  civilized  world,  let  th?ir  conduct 
and  their  result  be  ever  in  view,'*  could  they  mis- 
take the  import  of  the  term  baneful  domination,  or 


or  CANADA. 


247 


despise  the  advice  so  judiciously  given  by  the  rep- 
resentative of  a  metropolitan  county.  Knowing 
little  of  Bath,  but  its  reputation  of  being  the  resort 
of  wealth  and  fashion,  was  it  unnatural  for  them  to 
infer  that  the  member  for  that  town  spoke  the  sen- 
timents of  a  powerful  and  influential  class,  when  he 
said,  "  One  resource,  and  one  resource  alone  re- 
mains :  to  be  a  free  people  you  must  resist  the  Bri- 
tish parliament."  When  the  working  men's  so- 
cieties, patronised  by  practical  and  powerful  men, 
held  similar  language,  was  it  a  great  stretch  for  the 
credulity  of  those  poor  people  to  believe,  that  acces- 
sion of  Canada  would  immediately  follow  a  demon- 
stration of  revolt.  Their  case  is,  indeed,  one  that 
commands  our  pity  rather  than  our  resentment;  but 
what  shall  we  say  of  those  who  went  still  farther 
than  their  counsellors,  and  pursued  the  wicked 
course  of  advising  an  armed  resistance  to  the  go- 
vernment, of  exciting  them  to  sedition,  and  evoking 
the  evil  passions  of  the  human  heart,  to  insurrection 
and  slaughter.  The  receiver  is  more  criminal  than 
the  thief,  and  the  seducer  more  vile  than  his  victim. 
The  exile  and  the  prisoner,  the  houseless  settler,  and 
his  starving  suffering  family,  the  smouldering  vil- 
lages, the  spirits  of  the  dead,  and  the  voice  of  the 
dying,  call  aloud  for  vengeance  on  the  authors  of 
all  these  accumulated  aggravated  evils.  He  who 
knew  the  facility  of  man  to  fall  into  error,  and  the 
miseries  entailed  upon  us  by  guilt,  has  mercifully 
taught  us  to  offer  our  daily  prayer  that  we  may  not 
be  led  into  temptation ;  and  for  the  credit  of  our 
common  nature,  be  it  spoken,  so  few  have  been  the 
mstances  where  men  have  incited  to  crime,  when 
they  were  not  to  profit  by  the  offence,  that  no  pro- 


ir 


h.. 


!l 


l> 


H 


51  « 


248 


THB   BUBBLES 


vision  is  made  against  the  sin  of  Iiolding  out  temp- 
tation to  others.  It  was  not  to  be  supposed  that 
wickedness  could  exist  without  reward,  or  crime 
without  an  object.  Unfortunate  victims  of  false 
friends,  deluded  objects  of  cold  unfeeling  advice, 
you  deserved  the  lenity  that  has  been  extended 
to  you ;  it  would  have  been  unfair,  indeed,  to  have 
visited  upon  you,  the  mere  instruments  of  others, 
the  punishment  due  to  the  authors  of  your  folly  and 
your  guilt. 

Such  were  the   feelings  entertained  throughout 
the  adjoining  colonies,  but  here  a  diflbrcnt  language 
was  held.     They  were  pitied  not  because  they  were 
misguided,  but  because  they  were  unsuccessful.    In- 
dignation was  expressed,  in  no  measured  terms,  not 
against  the  tempter  or  the  tempted,  but  the  gallant 
and  loyal  militia  who  suppressed  them,  and  their 
vigilant,  able,  and  intelligent  governor.     My  Lord 
Brougham  was  loud  and  vehement  in  his  invectives, 
denouncing  these  brave  and  devoted  men  "  as  an 
undisciplined  and  insubordinate   rabble,"   and  the 
presiding  genius,  whose  penetration  discovered,  and 
whose  foresight  provided  the  means  of  crushing  this 
rebellion,  as  a  person  planting  snares,  with  the  base 
purpose  of  catching  the  unwary.     That  his  lord- 
ship, the  advocate  and  eulogist  of  a  republic,  should 
grieve  over  the  vain  attempt  of  others  to  establish 
it  in  Canada,  is  not  to  be  wondered  at;  but  that  he 
whose  physical  courage  no  man  doubts,  and  whose 
moral  courage  is  so  great  as  to  enable  him  to  stand 
forth  boldly,  unaided  and  alone,  among  his  peers, 
the  opponent  and  assailant  of  all  parties,  could  feel 
no  sympathy  for  those  brave  men  who,  in  the  dead- 
ly conflict  of  war,  rushed  forth  amid  the  storms  of 


m^ 


OF  CANAD\. 


2-W 


iii 


iheii'  inclement  winter,  in  support  of  their  laws, 
their  religion,  and  their  homes;  prepared  to  comjuer 
or  to  die  in  their  defence,  that  he  could  find  no 
terms  of  approbation,  no  figures  of  speech,  no  not 
one  word  of  praise,  for  those  heroic  men;  that  he 
could  sec  nothina;  peculiar  in. their  case,  who  had  to 
contend  with  violators  of  law  within,  and  violators 
of  treaties  without  the  province,  and  scorn  and  con- 
tumely here,  and  who, braving  privation, the  climate, 
and  the  enemy,  rallied  round  the  standard  of  their 
country  with  an  enthusiasm,  of  which  history  can 
'scarcely  find  a  parallel — that  he  could  discern  no 
worth  in  loyalty,  and  no  merit  in  those  "  who  fear 
God  and  honour  the  king,"    is,  indeed  a  fruitful 
source  of  astonishment.     How  is  it  ?     Is  this  a  cha- 
racteristic of  democracy  ?  Docs  it  indeed  harden  the 
heart  and  deaden  all  the  glowing  impulses  of  our 
nature;  or  is  it  that  philosophy  is  cold  and  specula- 
tive, regulating  the  passions,  and  subduing  and  chas- 
tening the  imagination.     Or  may  it  be,  that,  unused 
to  panegyric,  his  lordship  feels  and  knows  his  power 
of  sarcasm,  and  prefers  the  path  in  which  he  excels 
all  contemporaries,  to  one  in  which  unequal  powers 
forbid  the  hope  of  pre-eminence.    Whatever  it  may 
be,  for  his  own  sake,  for  the  sake  of  the  n9ble  house 
of  which  he  is  a  member,  and  of  the  country  of 
which  his  eloquence  is  at  once  the  pride  and  the 
boast,  it  is  deeply  to  be  deplored  that  he  should  have 
adopted  a  course  that,  unfortunately,  confers  but 
little  honour  on  the  qualities  of  his  head ;  and,  it  is 
to  be  feared,  still  less  on  the  feelings  of  his  heart. 

This  rebellion  had  scarcely  been  put  down,  when 
my  Lord  Durham  was  appointed  with  extraordina- 
22 


vii 


'  \' 


ii 


250 


TIIK  llUIinLES 


ry  powers,  to  complete  the  pacification.  On  this 
part  of  the  history  of  Canada  it  is  needless  to  dwell. 
It  has  proved  a  failure :  not  from  a  deficiency  of 
power,  but  from  a  deficiency  of  conduct  in  the  dicta- 
tor. Instead  of  assembling  around  him  a  council  of 
the  most  influential  and  best-informed  men  in  the  co- 
lony, according  to  the  evident  spirit  of  the  act  and  his 
instructions,  he  thought  proper  to  appoint  to  that  re- 
sponsible situation,  ofliccrs  attached  to  his  household 
or  perfect  strangers  with  the  magnanimous  view,  as 
lie  informs  us,  of  assuming  the  whole  respomibUHy  of 
his  own  measures.  As  might  naturally  be  expected, 
owing  to  his  having  neglected  to  obtain  the  best  pro- 
fessional advice  at  his  command  in  the  colony,  and 
acting  on  his  own  view  of  the  case,  his  first  step  was 
illegal.  Now,  by  assuming  the  whole  responsibility, 
\vc  were  given  to  understand  that,  having  full  con- 
fidence in  his  own  judgment  as  well  as  his  own  in- 
tegrity, he  was  disposed  to  monopolize  the  whole 
honour  of  success,  at  the  hazard  of  incurring  the 
whole  censure  of  failure.  The  praise  or  the  blame 
was  to  be  exclusively  his  own.  It  was  the  decision 
of  a  confident  and  vain  man.  His  next  act  was  indi- 
cative of  a  weak  and  petulant  mind.  Instead  of  be- 
ing willing  to  bear  the  whole  responsibility,  as  he 
announced,  he  showed  that  he  was  unwilling  or  un- 
able to  bear  any.  A  soon  as  Parliament  felt  itself 
called  upon  to  pronounce  the  illegality  of  his  mea- 
sures, and  stepped  in  to  rescue  him  from  the  con- 
sequences of  his  precipitate  conduct,  he  relinquished 
his  government,  not  in  the  usual  and  proper  form, 
by  tendering  his  resignation,  and  waiting  until  his 
successor  should  be  appointed,  but  by  instantly 
leaving  the  colony. 


i 


or  CANADA. 


251 


3n  this 
)  dwell, 
oncy  of 
edicta- 
uncil  ot" 
the  co- 
and  his 
that  re- 
usehold 
now,  as 
IbiUtij  ol 
ipected, 
»est  pro- 
my,  and 
fep  was 
isibility, 
ull  con- 
own  in- 
p  whole 
ring  the 
e  blame 
decision 
vas  indi- 
id  of  bC" 
y,  as  he 
12  or  un- 
elt  itself 
lis  mca- 
the  con- 
nquished 
er  form, 
until  his 
instantly 


It  is  dillicult  to  conceive  of  a  public  servant  com- 
mitting ar^ofTcnce  more  serious  in  its  nature,  and 
more  pernicious  in  its  example  than  thus  abandon- 
ing his  post  without  leave;  and  it  was  incumbent 
on  the  government  to  have  vindicated  the  honour 
of  the  Crown,  by  ordering  the  captain  of  the  In- 
constant to  return  iininediutely  to  Quebec  with  his 
lordship,  and  to  deliver  to  him,  within  his  govern- 
ment, the  acceptance  of  his  resignnlion.  It  would 
have  tauLjIil  tiic  misguided  people  of  the  Canadas  to 
respect,  if  they  could  not  love,  the  even-handed 
justice  that  could  visit  with  punishment  the  disobe- 
dience of  a  {Tovernor-ifcneral  as  well  as  that  of  a 
peasant;  and  they  would  have  seen  in  the  return  of 
the  one,  and  the  exile  of  the  other,  a  jiraclical  il- 
lustration of  the  only  equality  that  honest  and  sen- 
sible men  ever  desire  to  behold — "  the  equality  ot 
all  in  the  eye  of  the  law."  The  moral  eilect  of 
such  a  measure,  combining  vigour  with  impartia- 
lity,  would  have  gone  far  towards  tramiuillizing 
Canada,  and  would  have  enabled  his  lordship, 
when  he  next  addressed  the  people  of  England,  to 
have  pointed  to  it  as  a  proof  that  his  mission,  how- 
ever it  might  have  alTected  himself,  had  termi- 
nated in  a  manner  that  was  useful  to  the  colonv 
and  honourable  to  the  government- 

Of  the  ill-advised  and  ill-timed  manifesto  it  is 
unnecessary  for  me  to  speak;  its  effects  are  but  too 
visible  in  a  new  revolt,  to  which  its  unguarded  lan- 
guage gave  too  much  encouragement.  Nor  shall 
I  enter  upon  the  serious  charges  he  has  brought 
against  that  august  body,  of  which  he  has  the  ho- 


I'  I 


r 


252 


THE  BUBBLES 


i>        I 

I  I 


nour  to  be  a  member,  of  legislating,  where  Canada 
is  concerned,  "in  ignorance  and  indifference."  To 
shake  the  confidence  of  the  colonists  in  the  justice 
and  integrity  of  that  high  tribunal,  to  which  they 
have  to  look  as  a  last  resource,  was  indeed  unkind 
to  them,  unworthy  of  himself,  and  injurious  to  the 
honour  of  the  house  he  has  assailed.  He  who  ad- 
vocates democratic  institutions  will  soon  find  the 
effect  of  his  theory  influencing  his  own  conduct, 
and  though  he  may  commence  in  the  assertion  of 
principles,  lie  is  apt  to  end  in  the  expression  of 
feeling.  The  natural  tendency  of  such  opinions  is 
to  level  all  distinctions.  Although  we  have  great 
cause  therefore  for  regret,  we  have  none  for  sur- 
})rise,  in  this  attempt  to  measure  his  noble  colleagcs 
by  so  humble  a  standard.  I  am  willing,  however, 
to  do  his  lordship  the  justice  to  believe,  that  when 
the  irritation  that  caused  this  ebullition  of  feeling 
shall  subside,  he  will  himself  regret,  as  deeply  as 
every  right-thinking  man  now  does,  that  he  should 
have  judged  that  assembly  in  temper  and  pique; 
and  that  he  will  feel  he  has  afforded  some  room 
for  ill-nature  to  suggest,  that  although  he  had  a 


right,  if  he  thought  proper,  in  the  exercise  of  a 
laudable  diffidence,  to  have  appropriated  those  at- 
tributes to  himself,  he  was  not  justified  in  extending 
an  indiscriminate  application  of  them  to  others. 
That  many  of  the  measures  he  proposed  for  the 
benefit  of  Canada  were  good,  it  would  be  uncha- 
ritable to  doubt;  but  as  none  of  them  have  been 
matured,  it  would  be  presumptuous  to  say  so.  That 
others,  however,  were  of  a  dangerous  nature,  we 
have  reason  to  know.    The  evils  to  be  reaped  from 


OF  CANADA. 


253 


this  mission  have  not  yet  ripened  for  us  to  gather; 
but  the  seed  is  sown,  and  it  is  to  be  feared  taken 
root  too  extensively.  What  could  be  more  inju- 
dicious than  to  send  to  the  contented  and  happy 
colonies  of  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick,  and 
ask  for  deputies,  to  listen  to  crude  and  undigested 
schemes  for  their  future  government,  or  to  give 
their  own  visionary  plans  in  exchange  for  his? 
What  more  cruel  than  to  unsettle  men's  minds  as 
to  the  form  of  their  government,  and  make  the  sta- 
bility of  their  institutions  a  matter  of  doubt?  What 
more  pernicious  than  to  open  a  political  bazaar  at 
Quebec  for  the  collection  and  exhibition  of  imagi- 
nary grievances  ?  In  the  Lower  Provinces  we  are 
contented  and  happy.  We  need  no  reforms  but 
what  we  can  cilect  ourselves;  but  we  are  alarmed 
at  changes  which  we  never  asked,  and  do  not  re- 
quire. The  federative  union  proposed  by  his  lord- 
ship has  opened  a  wide  field  for  speculation,  di- 
rected men's  minds  to  theoretical  change,  afforded 
a  theme  for  restless  young  demagogues  to  agitate 
upon,  and  led  us  to  believe  that  our  constitution  is 
in  danger  of  being  subverted.  Most  people  think, 
and  all  reflecting  men  know,  that  it  would  ripen 
the  colonies  into  premature  independence  in  less 
than  ten  years ;  and  who,  I  would  ask,  that  is  at- 
tached to  the  mother  country,  and  desirous  to  live 
under  a  monarchical  form  of  government,  can  con- 
template a  scheme  pregnant  with  so  much  danger, 
without  feelings  of  dismay  ?  Who  would  continue 
to  live  in  New  Brunswick,  if  at  every  disturbance 
in  Canada,  the  governor-general  is  to  propose  to 
new-model  their  form  of  government?   Who  would 

22* 


'.'■ 


254: 


THE  BUBBLES 


consent  that  that  united  and  loyal  colony  should 
have  its  peace  and  happiness  jeopardized  by  any 
union  with  the  disaffected  and  troublesome  French 
Canadians,  or  will  approve  of  the  political  quackery 
that  would  compel  Nova  Scotia  to  swallow  a  nau- 
seous medicine,  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  a  cure 
in  Canada  ?  The  danger  arising  from  such  vision- 
ary schemes  as  have  lately  been  unfolded  to  the 
colonies,  is  passed  for  the  present,  and  I  heartily 
rejoice  that  it  is,  but  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  powers 
co-extensive  with  the  Lower  Provinces,  may  never 
again  be  intrusted  to  any  man.  In  this  country 
there  is  a  general  and  very  natural  repugnance  ma- 
nifested to  give  up  the  bodies  of  deceased  friends 
for  experiments  for  the  benefvt  of  science.  It  is 
difficult  to  imagine  how  so  sensitive  a  nation  could 
consent  that  their  colonists  should  be  considered 
of  less  value,  and  be  delivered  alive  into  the  hands 
of  the  operator,  for  the  advancement  of  politics. 

In  Paris,  I  heard  with  horror  that  a  lecturer  had 
illustrated  his  theory  by  applying  his  dissecting 
knife  to  the  limbs  of  a  living  animal.  I  shuddered 
at  the  recital  of  such  atrocious  cruelty ;  but  little 
did  I  dream  that,  at  that  very  time,  a  kind  and 
merciful  Providence  was  graciously  averting  a  si- 
milar fate  from  our  own  species  on  the  other  side 
of  the  water. 

All  British  America  has  been  agitated  during  the 
past  summer,  by  substantial  fears,  or  mocked  by 
unreal  hopes,  and  ambition  has  now  reached  where 
sedition  failed  to  penetrate.  The  absurd  and  im- 
practicable scheme  of  colonial  representation  in 
Parliament,  although  disgusting,  from  its  rank  pro- 


\   i 


OF  CANADA. 


255 


perties,  to  delicate  palates,  was  well  suited  to  the 
rapacious  appetites  of  provincial  sycopriahts.    The 
bait  was  well  selected,  and  soon  attracted  the  long- 
ing regard  of  a  shoal  of  political  sharks.    The  self- 
denying  tenets  of  the  sour  sectarian  have  not  been 
proof  against  the  temptation.     His  nostrils  have 
been  too  powerful  for  his  conscience,  and  scenting 
the  strong  odour  of  this  savoury  appendage  from 
afar,  he  has  hurried  to  the  surface  to  regale  him- 
self with  its  flavour.     The  canting  hypocrite  has 
offered  his  aspirations  for  the  conversion  of  Par- 
liament to  such  liberal  views;   and  the  profligate 
demagogue  of  the  village  has  expressed  a  hope, 
that  a  deficiency  of  morals  may  be  compensated 
by  an  abundance  of  zeal.     They  have  been  lulled 
to  sleep  by  its  soporific  effect,  and  have  dreamed 
of  this  ladder  as  did  Jacob  of  old,  and  of  the  ascent 
it  offered  to  high  places.     The  woolsack  and  the  er- 
mine— the  treasury  and  the  peerage — appear  with- 
in their  grasp,  and  they  invoke  blessings  on  the 
man  who  promises  so  much,  and  who  hints  at  his 
power  to  do  even  more.     If  I  did  not  feel  too  in- 
dignant at  all  this,  I  too  might  weep  over  the  scene 
of  folly  and  of  weakness,  and  would  mingle  my 
tears  of  sorrow  with  those  that  pride  has  shed,  and 
blot  out  all  trace  of  it  for  ever. 

The  advocate  of  the  ballot  box  and  extended  suf- 
frage is  not  the  man  to  govern  a  colony.  While 
you  have  been  speculating  upon  the  theory  we 
have  been  watching  the  experiment.  When  the 
lower  orders  talk  of  these  things,  we  know  what 
they  mean ;  their  language  is  intelligible,  and  their 
object  not  to  be  mistaken ;  but  when  a  nobleman 


-':» 


M 


I 


'11 


350 


THE  BUBBLES 


.:i 


advocates  democratic  institutions,  we  give  him  full 
credit  for  the  benevolence  of  his  intentions,  but  we 
doubt  the  sanity  of  his  mind.  Keep  such  men  at 
home,  where  there  is  so  much  of  rank,  intelligence, 
and  wealth  to  counterbalance  them.  Here  they 
serve  to  amuse  and  gratify  agitators,  and  make 
usefuf  chairmen  of  popular  assemblies,  by  preser- 
ving a  propriety  of  conduct  and  a  decency  of  lan- 
guage, where  violence  and  outrage  might  otherwise 
prevail.  But  send  them  not  among  us,  where  their 
rank  dazzles,  their  patronage  allures,  and  their  prin- 
ciples seduce  the  ignorant  and  unwary.  If  we  tres- 
pass upon  your  rights  of  sovereignty,  repress  us ; 
but  while  you  maintain  your  own  privileges,  re- 
spect the  inviolability  of  ours.  When  we  ask  in 
the  Lower  Provinces  for  a  federative  union,  it  will 
be  time  enough  to  discuss  its  propriety:  but  in  the 
mean  time  spare  u??  the  infliction  of  what  to  us  is 
so  incomprehensible  and  so  repugnant — a  radical 
dictator  and  a  democratic  despot. 

I  have  already  far  exceeded  the  limits  I  had  de- 
signed to  confine  myself  to,  and  must,  therefore, 
draw  to  a  close.  I  have  now  shown  you,  that 
after  the  conquest  of  Canada,  that  country  was 
governed  by  English  laws ;  that  the  royal  procla- 
mation invited  British  subjects  to  remove  there; 
and  promised  them  the  protection  and  enjoyment 
of  those  laws;  and  that  in  violation  of  that  promise, 
in  order  to  conciliate  the  French,  their  legal  code 
was  substituted  for  our  own:  that  an  injudicious 
division  of  the  province  was  made,  whereby  the 
French  were  separated  from  the  great  body  of 
FiHglish  subjects,  in  consequence  of  which  Canada 


OF  CANADA. 


257 


became  a  Gallic  and  not  a  British  colony.  That 
they  have  been  kept  a  distinctive  people  by  those 
means,  and  by  permitting  the  language  of  the  coun- 
try  and  the  recording  language  of  their  parliament 
to  be  French ;  that  they  have  always  had  an  over- 
whelming majority  of  members  of  their  own  origin 
in  the  legislature,  who  have  been  distinguished  bv 
an  anti-commercial  and  anti-British  feeling;  that 
this  feeling  has  been  gradually  growing  with  the 
growth  of  the  country,  until  they  were  in  a  condi- 
tion to  dictate  terms  to  government ;  that  this  feel- 
ing was  manifested  by  the  manner  in  which  they 
have  constantly  resisted  local  assessments,  and 
made  commerce  to  bear  every  provincial  expendi- 
ture,^— in  the  way  they  neutralized  the  electoral 
privileges  of  the  voters  of  British  origin, — in  the 
continijance  of  the  oppressive  tenure  of  the  feudal 
law,— rin  taxing  emigrants  from  the  mother  coun- 
try, and  tiiem  only, — in  their  attempts  to  wrest  the 
crown  land  from  government, — in  their  attack  on 
the  Land  Company,  and  the  introduction  of  settlers 
by  them, — in  their  opposition  to  a  system  of  regis- 
try,— in  their  mode  of  temporary  legislation, — in 
their  refusal  to  vote  supplies,  and  in  the  whole  te- 
nour  of  their  debates  and  votes.  I  have  shown 
you  that  the  policy  of  every  government,  whether 
Tory  or  Whig,  has  been  conciliatory  (a  fatal  po- 
licy, I  admit,  and  one  that  naturally  admits  and  in- 
vites demands,)  and  that  every  reasonable  change 
required  (with  many  very  unreasonable  ones)  has 
been  conceded  to  them;  that  they  are  a  people  ex- 
empt from  taxes,  in  possession  of  their  own  laws, 
language,  and  religion,  and  of  every  blessing  civil, 


11 
I 


5rT-««^ 


I 


258 


THE  UUBBLES 


political,  and  religious ;  in  short,  that  Canada  is  the 
most  favoured  colony  of  Great  Britain,  and  that 
the  demands  they  now  make  are  inconsistent  with 
colonial  dependence. 

This  statement  I  offer  in  refutation  of  my  Lord 
Durham's  assertion  of  misgovernment,  used  in  its 
invidious  sense,  or  as  explained  at  the  meeting  at 
Carlton  Hill,  that  they  are,  "our  oppressed  and  en- 
slaved brethren;"  and  in  proof  of  my  own  position 
that  the  evils  now  existing  arc  the  natural  conse- 
quences of  the  Quebec  and  constitutionnl  acts,  and 
not  the  result  of  tyranny  and  oppression.  The 
review  which  I  have  just  concluded,  indicates  the 
remedy  loo  plainly  to  render  it  at  all  necessary  for 
me  to  offer  a  prescription.  If,  however,  you  can 
entertain  any  doubt  upon  the  subject,  you  will  at 
least  be  satisfied  that  the  cure  is  not  to  be  effected 
by  concession.  Of  this  all  men,  I  think,  must  now 
be  convinced.  Since  the  termination  of  the  late 
abortive  attempt  at  colonial  government,  one  of  my 
Lord  Durham's  official  coadjutors  has  publicly  pro- 
claimed that  all  his  preconceived  opinions  on  the 
subject  of  Canada  were  erroneous.  This  was  a 
work  of  supererogation.  He  might  have  spared 
himself  the  trouble  of  the  announcement,  and  the 
pain  of  a  recantation.  All  those  who  were  at  the 
trouble  of  inquiring  into  the  nature  of  his  views 
were  already  convinced  of  his  error.  His  lordship 
also  has  inforihed  the  good  people  of  Devonport 
that  he  has  made  important  discoveries  on  the 
other  side  of  the  water.  Had  his  mission  been 
merely  designed  for  his  own  instruction,  the  public, 
while  they  admitted  the  necessity  that  existed  for 


I 


OP  CANADA. 


259 


;i 


it,  would  have  applauded  his  zeal  in  such  a  useful 
and  necessary  pursuit;  but  as  it  was  undertaken  at 
no  inconsiderable  expense  to  the  nation,  they  have 
reason  to  regret  that  this  remarkable  illumination 
was  deferred  until  the  moment  of  his  return.  What 
the  extent  of  these  recent  revelations  may  be,  we 
are  not  informed,  but  we  may  bo  permitted  to  hope 
that  he  has  learned  this  important  truth,  that  he 
who  undertakes  the  benevolent  office  of  calming 
the  excited  passions  of  others,  should  first  learn  to 
govern  his  own.  That  there  arc  serious  difliculties 
in  the  way  of  the  pacification  of  Canada  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  but  greater  difficulties  have  been  over- 
come by  Van  Amburgh,  who  exhibits  every  night 
for  the  edification  of  government  and  the  amuse- 
ment of  Cockneys,  animals,  whose  natures  are 
more  ferocious,  and  antipathies  more  powerful 
than  those  of  the  English  and  French,  living  in  the 
same  cage  in  the  utmost  harmony:  and  what  is  still 
more  important,  enjoying  the  most  unrestrained 
freedom- of  action  within  their  assigned  limits,  and 
yet  making  no  resistance  to  the  salutary  control 
of  an  external  power. 


9. 


Justum  et  tenacem  propositi  viriim 

Non  civium  ardor  prava  jubentium, 

Non  vultus  instantis  tyranni 

Mente  quatit  solid:!. 


But  let  me  not  be  misunderstood  by  the  nature 
of  this  allusion.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the 
assembly,  because  they  have  done  so  much  that  is 
objectionable,  were  always  wrong  in  what  they  re- 


mk 


mmmm 


260 


THE  BUBBLES 


quired,  or  the  legislative  council,  because  it  is  sucii 
a  loyal  and  respectable  body,  were  always  right  in 
what  they  refused.  This  was  far  from  being  the 
case.  Many  of  the  demands  of  the  Canadians  were 
reasonable  and  just,  and  many  of  the  changes  they 
desired,  were  for  the  benefit  of  the  country;  but, 
unfortunately,  the  violence  of  their  language,  and 
the  unconstitutional  and  arbitrary  acts  to  which  they 
resorted,  in  the  attainment  of  those  objects,  lel't 
no  room  to  doubt  that  they  were  more  bent  upon 
having  a  grievance  than  seeking  redress;  and  that 
they  would  rather  have  provoked  a  refusal  than 
obtain  a  concession.  On  the  other  hand,  the  coun- 
cil, like  most  similar  bodies,  has  always  contained 
some  men  who  were  seltish  in  disposition  and  ultra 
in  opinions,  and  whose  conduct  was  calculated  to 
irritate  the  opposite  party,  and  to  do  more  mischief 
than  if  they  had  openly* espoused  their  cause  and 
adopted  their  principles.  But  whether  the  assembly 
was  right  or  wrong  in  what  it  required,  or  tlic 
council  justified  or  not  in  its  opposition,  the  former 
has  succeeded  in  all  its  demands.  ^* 

The  subject  has  now  assumed  a  new  aspect. 
Pretensions  have  been  put  forth  that  involve  the 
question  of  independence,  and  Great  Britain  must 
now  decide  whether  she  is  to  retain  the  province  or 
not.  It  is  a  crisis  in  the  history  of  this  country 
which  other  nations  regard  with  intense  interest. 
The  fate  of  Canada  will  determine  that  of  all  the 
other  colonies.  The  retreat  of  the  soldiers  will  in- 
vite the  incursions  of  the  barbarians,  and  the  with- 
drawal of  the  legions,  like  those  of  Rome,  from  the 
distant  parts  of  the  empire,  will  show  that  Eds- 


^--->^v,. 


or  CANADA. 


it  is  such 
fs  right  in 
being  the 
lians  were 
uigcs  they 
intry;  but, 
;uage,  and 
which  they 
jjccts,   left 

bent  upon 
;  and  that 
5fusal  than 
,  the  coun- 
1  contained 
n  and  ultra 
ilculated  to 
re  mischief 

cause  and 
le  assembly 
efl,  or   the 

the  former 

lew  aspect, 
involve  the 
Iritain  must 
province  or 
his  country 
ise  interest. 
It  of  all  the 
iers  will  in- 
id  the  with- 
le,  from  the 
that  Ene- 


S61 


1 


land,*  conscious  of  her  present  weakness  and  past 
glories,  is  contracting  her  limits  and  concentrating 

•  As  a  colonist  it  would  be  unpardonable  in  me  not  to  acknow- 
ledge in  adequate  terms  the  obligations  we  are  under  to  the  ciiair- 
manof  the  finance  committee  for  the  important  discoveries  lie  has 
recently  made  in  colonial  matters.  Otiier  men  may  rival  him  in 
industry,  but  for  masterly  and  statesman-like  views  he  is  without  a 
competitor.  It  is  singular  that  the  egregious  error  Great  Britain 
lias  heretofore  committed  in  considering  her  foreign  possessions  of 
great  value  sliould  never  have  been  detected  before,  and  that  our 
forefathers  should  have  had  so  l.ttle  knowledge  of  political  econo- 
my as  to  rettu-n  as  sources  of  wealth,  and  power,  what  it  now  ap- 
pears have  always  been  productive  of  a  fearful  annual  loss,  ll 
would  seem  that  the  siu-face  of  Grcut  Unlain,  instead  of  being  too 
small  for  her  population,  is  too  extensive,  and  lluit,  instead  of  car- 
rying on  her  immense  colonial  trade  herself,  she  might  be  spared 
the  trouble  by  transforming  the  colonists  into  foreigners,  and  per- 
mitting others  to  do  that  drudgery  for  her.  It  is  said  tliat  the 
same  error  has  been  committed  by  the  owners  of  timber  trees,  in 
permitting  the  absurd  arrangement  of  nature,  with  respect  to  the 
limbs  to  continue  unreformed,  that  they  would  be  nu.ch  more  vi- 
gorous if  the  branches,  with  their  prodigious  expenditure  on  tin- 
leaves,  were  all  lopped  oflT,  (for  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the 
trunk  supplies  the  branches  with  sap,  and  not  the  brar.ches  the 
trunk,)  and  that  the  stem  would  he  larger,  stronger,  and  better 
without  such  useless  and  expensive  appendages.  Trulj'  this  is  the 
age  of  wonders,  but  this  discovery  of  the  worth/  chairman  is  the 
mojt  wonderful  one  of  modern  times,  although,  strange  to  say,  it 
is  by  no  means  appreciated  as  it  deserves  to  be.  I^  would  be  un- 
fair, as  well  as  ungenerous,  to  detract  from  his  merit,  by  saying 
that  he  borrowed  the  idea  from  agriculture,  but  it  must  be  admit- 
ted that  there  is  a  wonderful  coincidence  between  his  principle 
and  that  of  the  ditcher.  A  drain,  it  is  well  known,  is  lengthened 
by  being  cut  at  both  ends.  Now  he  appears  to  have  applied  this 
principle  to  England,  and  infers  most  justly  that  the  more  she  is 
reduced  in  size,  the  greater  will  be  her  circimifercnce.  Having 
proved  this  most  satisfactorily,  he  advances  some  most  important, 
but  startling  proposition!),  namely,  that  the  smaller  your  property, 
23 


I'' 


\i 


m 


.1 


262 


THE  BUBBLES  OF  CANADA. 


her  energies,  to  meet,  as  becomes  her  cljaractei , 
the  destiny  that  awaits  all  human  greatness. 

the  less  you  have  tu  defend ;  tlic  fewer  markets  you  can  command, 
the  more  will  be  open  to  you;  the  more  dependant  you  are  upon 
foreigners  for  sale  or  supply,  the  more  certain  you  are  of  nevci' 
wanting  c'ther;  and  others  of  a  similar  nature.  His  accuracy  in 
Hgures  is  iruly  astonishing,  and  is  only  to  be  equalled  by  the  truth 
of  the  principles  they  evolve.  Then  comes  the  important  ques- 
tion, "If  England  has  grown  so  great,  so  rich,  and  so  powerful,  in 
spite  of  all  these  expensive  possessions,  how  much  greater,  richer, 
and  more  powerful  would  she  be  without  them,"  Every  true 
lover  of  his  countiy  must  rejoice  to  see  that  its  real  interests  arc 
so  well  understood,  and  so  ably  supported — "Nil  desperandum, 
Mis])icc  Teucro." 


THE  END. 


haractcr, 

n  command, 
)U  are  upon 
ire  of  nevei 

accuracy  in 
by  the  truth 
orlant  ques- 
powerful,  in 
;atcr,  richer, 

Every  true 
interests  arc 
esperandum. 


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3,  Of  Credit  in  England— 4.  Of  Cre- 
dit  ht  the  United  Stater- 5.  Inse- 
curity of  Property  and  its  Effects: 
England,  France,  United  States — 
6.  Friction:  England,  France,  Scot- 
land, United  SUtes— 7.  The  United 
States  in  ISSS-^Sr— 8.  England  in 
1835  and  1836—9.  Conclusion. 


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dian,  the  most  approved  methods  of 
securing' and  improving  their  physi- 
cal powers.     This  is  attempted  by 


pointing  out  the  duties  which  the 
parent  or  the  guardian  owes  for  this 

{>urpo8e  to  this  interc-Ung,  but  help- 
ess  class  of  beings,  and  the  manner 
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and 
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luties  which  the 

dian  owes  for  this 

(resting',  but  help- 

>,  and  the  manner 

ties  shall  be  ful> 

render  available 

to  these  objects 

lien  they  become 

mpting  this,  the 

as  much  as  pos<- 

"  and  has  given, 

itter  himself  too 

ase  of  which  he 

Ate  and  designat- 

th  a  fidelity  that 

two   being  cnn- 

with"  the  beat 

them  that  either 

or  that  of  others 


3sq.,M.R.r.A. 


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OR,  FAMILY  ADVISER: 

ConsUtitig  of  (hitlinet  of  Snatomy,  Phyriokgy,  and  Hygiene,       h  tueh  j 

MntB  on  the  Prodis  of  Phytic,  Surgery,  and  the  Diuaaea  of  iVomen 

and  Children,  at  may  prove  ute^l  tn  famiUet  when  regular  Phyri' 

eiant  cannot  he  procured. •  Bang  a  Companion  anaQuidefar 

intelligent  Prindpaltof  Manufiutoriei,  Pkmtationa,  emd 

Boarding  Schoolt,  Iwidt  of  liamiKea,  Mattert  of  Vet- 

tell,  oRttionariet,  or  Traoelleri,  and  a  unful 

Sketch  for  Young  Men  about  eommendng 

the  Study  of  Medicine. 

BT  REYNELL  COATES,  M.  D. 

Fellow  of  the  College  of  Pliysians  of  Philadelphia — Honorary  Member  of 
the  Philadelphia  Medical  Society— Correspondent  of  the  Lyceum  oif 
Natural  History  of  New  York— Member  of  the  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences  of  Philadelphia^Formerly  Resident  Surgeon  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Hospital,  he,  '^ 

▲ISISTXD  BT  SKYBRAX.  MBDIOAL  FBISNDS. 

Jh  One  Handiome  Volume. 


Ott«vlen«*V 


4r  Blmchard, 

I  Manual  of  Phrenologr,  12mo, 
mrt  Treatise  on  the  Practice 
Medicine,  2  voh.  8vo.  (in  the 

«8.)  '■  " 

'8  Manual  of  Pathology, 
sr  8  Special  Anatomy,  2  vols. 

on  the  History,  Habits  and 
incts  of  Animals,  8vo.,  plates. 
^'8  Surpical  Memoirs, 

Contribution's   to  GeoIogyJ 

Synopsis  of  the  Family  of  th'e 
ides,  8vo.  ' 

I's  General  Anatomy,  3  vols      , 
1  of  Materia  Medica,byToirn<^  .c 
tr  Medicine  for  Pamilies?  by 
Coates,  1  vol.  8vo.  ' 

s  on  Anatomical  Preparations. 
B  Animal  and  Veiretable  Phv- 
py,  with  500  wood  cuts.  2 
8vo, 

>n  Fevers. 

n  the  Teeth,  8vo.  boards. 

Principles  of  Surgery,  Svo., 

ie's  Library  of  Practical  Me- 
e  (in  the  press.)    . 
>n  on  Inflammation,  8vo. 
IS  on  the  Lungs. 


rCINE; 

ER: 

^tbeDutoHa  of  h^omm 
\ea  when  rtgular  Phyri- 
mnion  antTQuide  for 
<,  Pkmtationa,  and 
,Ma$ttnofVea- 
and  a  tueful 
ommeneing 

M.D. 

hia— Honorary  Member  of  > 
ondent  of  the  Lyceum  rf 
the  Academy  of  Natural 
t  Surgeon  of  the  Pennsyl- 

E<  FSISNDS. 


